One step. Two. Three.
I throw myself to the ground and stretch out my hand. Water spits up and splashes into my helm, blurring my vision. My arm strains so much, I think my shoulder may have popped out of the socket. But she’s drifting past me. My fingers catch the strap of her dress—
Her legs smack hard against a bulging rock, and she rolls under a swell. The strap pulls free of my fingers, and she’s gone. Tumbling away to the middle of the widening river. Ahead, the waterfall roars.
All I can do is watch her sail away from me. If Rose goes over that waterfall and breaks against the rocks, I will break with her.
I have been a dead man walking for longer than my cursed twenty-five years. Asleep to the joys of the world, to the wonders that were screaming at me to wake up.
She brought me back to life.
And for the first time in centuries, I’ve found something worth losing everything for.
My gloves are off first. I fling the breastplate to the side as I’m sprinting to the water’s edge. The boots are next, and I’m able to unhook my greaves without stopping. By the time I reach the last piece of land before the waterfall, the only piece of armor left is my helmet.
She’s in the very middle, too far for me to grab or to reach by swimming. I bounce on my toes, sucking in a deep breath.
You are an idiot, Kairyn screams in my mind. You think you can save her? Fool! You’ll only kill yourself.
“Then so be it,” I murmur.
And at that moment, Rose is sucked into the swirling vortex and plunges over the waterfall.
I leap after her.
Air and water rush past me. I keep my arms pinned to my side, legs tight together. The world blurs in a spray of cold water. Beneath me, Rose’s body is limp, her hair and limbs flinging out.
I will never break my promise. The space between us vanishes, and I wrap my arms around her waist. With all the momentum I can muster, I twist our bodies so she’s tight against me, and my back is to the rocks.
I didn’t think much further than this. There’s about two moments before we crash against the jagged rocks below.
For the first, I clutch her tighter to my chest, reveling in the feel of her skin one more time, the beauty of her delicate face even now.
For the second, I pray to the Queen who abandoned us that there’s something growing among the rocks.
I stretch out my hand, feeling for the veins of life within the lake: the glowing threads that run through all living things, be it fae, humans, animals, or plants. Then I snag the closest one: a cluster of lily pads.
Thrusting my power out, the lily pads grow … and grow. With a roar, I yank those threads closer.
The fall ends. But instead of rock, we bounce against the gigantic green pad, sailing off into the lake. I hit the water with a smack, and Rose flies out of my arms.
Water pools in my helm, but I kick upward until I’m at the surface, the cold water dripping away from my eyes and mouth. Rosalina floats like a corpse nearby.
“Rose!” I splash over to her.
She’s not breathing.
I can’t think about that. I flip her over, grab her under her arms, and swim on my back to the shore. The sound of my breath and blood rages through my helm.
Finally, I reach the shore and drag her out. Her dress is plastered to her skin and heavy with water. Soaked tendrils of hair stick to her face. I quickly brush them away and put my hand to her mouth.
Nothing.
“No, no, no.” My own chest heaves, and I feel the panic rising. “Rose, wake up. You’ve got to breathe. Come on, Rose.”
I grab her wrist. She’s got a pulse, but it’s weak. Breath. I need to get her breath started. I put my hands on her sternum and push down hard. “Come on, Baby Girl. Breathe for me.” Again and again, I compress her chest. Water streaks down my face, and I don’t know if it’s the lake water or my tears. “Breathe!”
My compressions get harder, and I think I may crack her ribs. She’s still not breathing. I look around the grove, desperate, as if someone might appear. “Help me,” I whimper. “Someone, help me.”
But there’s nothing.
She’s dying! I promised to protect her.
She promised to protect me.
I stop the compressions. A sob escapes me, and I grab her in my arms, clutching her to my chest. She’s so limp. I stare up at the sky and howl. “You can’t do this! You can’t take her from me!”
My hands run through her hair, and I clutch her face. She’s so pale, the life leaving her with every one of my wasted breaths.
My breath.
I can give her my breath.
Every piece of me belonged to her the moment I saw her climbing out of Castletree, anyway.
She was so ungraceful, it’s a wonder I ever suspected she was a spy. Not just ungraceful but unmannered, throwing bread rolls at Kel when we sat together at dinner. And the way she squirmed when I first healed her, nervous as a doe.
And yet … She is fierce. She made bargains with fae, rescued a realm, rescued us. She laughs with abandon and loves without judgment. She leaves every path she crosses more beautiful.
There is no one more deserving of breath.
And it will be the honor of my life to give her mine.
I lay her back down, then shakily grab the bottom of my helm.
If this works and she awakens, you will have broken your creed, Kairyn sneers in my mind. You will have abandoned everything you’ve ever stood for! You will bring shame to the throne of Spring!
“I know,” I whisper. “And I choose this path, anyway.”
You can’t do this! Ezryn, stop!
I lift the helm off my head and drop it to the side.
The air makes my wet cheeks cold, and a breeze plays at the ends of my hair. It’s been so long since I’ve bared my face in nature and not only in the privacy of my chambers.
“I seek no forgiveness, nor ask for understanding,” I whisper to the wind, to my people, to the ancient fae of Spring. “This is my will, my choice. I offer Rosalina O’Connell the breath of life.”
I lean down and place my lips against hers.
76
Rosalina
A wind blows through my lungs, quelling the fire that’s blazing. My ribs ache with pressure, and water billows up my throat. Then that wind flows through me again.
Come back to me, a voice cries within my mind.
That wind … It’s pushing me out of the fire. But I’m so tired, it would be so much easier to lie down and burn.
Come back to me, the voice growls again, commanding and insistent. I give you my breath of life. Come back to me!
The blackness clouding my vision wavers, but I still can’t see anything. The voice is right beyond it, I’m sure of that. A beam of light shoots out, disappearing into the gloom ahead.
Come back to me.
I suck in a breath of cool air. The shred of light tremors with each beat of my heart. I want to follow where it leads. I’m coming. I’m coming back to you.