It flashes in my mind: shedding my clothes in this tower, his mouth kissing every inch of my skin. I want his powerful body to move with mine. I want every piece of him. It would break my heart to give myself to someone for one night who clearly doesn’t want this bond. But for Castletree, for the Enchanted Vale, I’d do it. Even if it would break all of me.
Heat blossoms between us as his gaze rakes over my body, and I wonder if his thoughts mirror my own. Then Kel moves, grabbing me and pulling me close to him. His stare is so intense, I think for a moment he’s going to do it—rip my clothes off and have me here on this floor.
I’m yours, I’m yours, I’m yours.
His eyes squeeze shut, and he brings his lips to my ear. “Let me make something perfectly clear, Rosalina. I would rather fuck every man and woman in the Enchanted Vale before making love to you. And a thousand armies on my doorstep could not compel me to break this curse.”
I push away from him, my heart shattering. The rejection feels like a physical blow, and tears sting the corners of my eyes. How can he be so callous? So cruel? My fists clench at my sides, and I take a deep breath, willing myself to be strong. “What did you want, Kel? Did you want me to stay in Orca Cove? Get married to someone else and have his babies? To forget all about you?”
If my words have any effect on him, they do not show on his face. “Yes. You shouldn’t have returned.”
“You’ll never want me…”
He steps forward, and the whole tower seems to shake, the thorns trembling as he snarls, “I would see the Enchanted Vale in ashes and Castletree overtaken by briars before completing my bond with you.”
“Fine,” I say, my voice shaking. “I’ll leave you to your curse.” I turn on my heels and storm out of the tower, determined not to let him see me break.
20
Rosalina
I storm through the halls of Castletree, knowing there’s only one place that can make me feel better after Kel’s words.
As I push open the doors of the library, I take in a deep breath, letting the crisp scent of Autumn fill my nose. It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen, the shelves like extensions of the tall trees that grow inside, their branches heavy with leaves that flutter down to crunch beneath my feet. Even the thorns that weave around the trees and snake over the shelves can’t diminish its beauty.
Someone whips out from around a corner and smacks right into me. I fall to my ass, surrounded by books. My father is sprawled across from me in a similar fashion.
Of course, he would be here. I can’t help but smile at our similarities, my anger drifting away.
“I see you found the library,” I say, helping him gather the fallen books.
“Oh yes,” Papa gleams. “Thought I’d bring these to my room for a bit of reading. That Marigold lady said she’d bring me some soup and a mug of hot cocoa. Can you believe that? The fae have cocoa!”
“It’s delicious, Papa.” As I help stack the books in his arms, I noticed he’s gathered a vast array, everything from creature compendiums, to myths, maps, and stories.
“Is everything alright, Rose?” he asks softly.
“Just processing everything. I think I need some quiet time to browse the stacks.”
“Well, you know where to find me. Besides,” he casts a glance over his shoulder, “there’s something here you should see.”
My father leaves and I look around the library, noticing something that wasn’t there before: a large wooden desk with a red mushroom-shaped chair. Behind the counter stands an empty shelf. It almost looks like…
Yes, there’s a slot at the bottom of the desk that opens to a bin, and etched above it is the word: RETURNS. I step back, letting myself take it in. A smaller tree is bent over the desk and shelf, and a wooden sign hangs from one of its branches that reads: “Rosalina’s Library.”
Tears well in my eyes. How many times can a girl cry in one day?
“We made it,” a soft voice says from behind me, “wishing that one day you’d return to us.”
Farron steps out from behind one of the book stacks. Warmth blooms inside me, and something in my chest eases as I take him in. His auburn hair is a tangle, his eyes deep gold. A broad smile beams across his face, as if the sun has peeked out from behind a dark rain cloud.
“Farron!” I launch myself toward him in two steps, wrapping my arms around his shoulders.
He holds me close, face dipping into the crook of my neck. “Hey, Rosie.”
I burrow myself deeply into his embrace. He’s wearing a tunic of deep green and brown, embroidered with gold thread and adorned with acorns and leaves. His trousers are made of supple leather, and his boots are of the same deep green as his tunic. A cloak of russet and yellow swishes as we rock together.
“Rosie,” he says, finally pulling away. “I’m so—”
“Don’t.” I place my hands over his lips. “Don’t say sorry. None of this was your fault. Everything is okay.” We’re together now.
The flash of guilt in his eyes says he doesn’t believe me, but he gently takes my hand from his mouth and places a soft kiss on the palm. “Do you like it?”
“Of course!” I run my fingers along the wood. With a plop, I test out the mushroom chair. “Wow, this is comfortable.”
Farron gives a little laugh. “I remembered you telling me how you wanted to have your own library back home. So, it was just something I worked on. I asked the trees to move a bit and we created, well, this.”
His thoughtfulness fills my heart, and it hurts to think of him here believing I had abandoned him. My mind still has such a hard time making sense of it. This kind and thoughtful Autumn prince who would never harm anyone… and the beast he turns into at night.
A shiver runs through my body as I remember the dripping jaws, the brown matted fur. He hadn’t recognized me at all.
“Day and Ezryn helped too,” Farron continues. “Ezryn brought fresh flowers for your desk, but then he left the castle and they wilted. And Dayton made the sign.”
I can tell Dayton’s handiwork: the messy writing, the small holes in the wood filled with brightly colored sea glass that sparkle and reflect in the light.
Ezryn’s flowers are dried in the vase on the desk but that doesn’t make them any less beautiful. “Farron, this is amazing.”
“I’m sure Kel would have helped too, but we didn’t want to bother him,” Farron mumbles awkwardly.
Something glitters on the far side of the returns box: a line of sparkling snowflakes etched into the wood, similar to the tattoo that had decorated my wrist before Kel rescinded our bargain. I pull out the box and see one book inside.
I recognize it immediately. It was the book I’d brought to Kel’s room, the one I’d fallen asleep reading to him.
Carefully, I pick it up and a small slip of paper flutters out. In soft cursive, it reads:
Perhaps your books are not so boring. It was a clever move to freeze that annoying ranger in a block of ice at the end. Though I cannot fathom why the heroine would simply not use her fire to unfreeze him rather than getting into that silly battle with her brother.
Keldarion had read the book I left him? And wrote me a note. Had he expected me to return? Or were these words for a ghost?
“No.” My eyes blaze with fury. A small thorn rises from the ground and spears the note to the desk. “He was here.”
“Oh, uh, that’s new.” Farron looks nervously from me to the thorns, then murmurs, “I tried to keep up with the staff’s book requests, but it was, uh,” he lets out a sigh and runs a hand through his floppy hair, “it was harder than it looks.”
“He was absolute shit,” a smooth, cocky voice drawls from the corner. We both turn to see Dayton strolling toward us with a fluid grace that reminds me of a breeze on a summer’s day. “Remember the time you gave Marigold that book—what was it called? Ah yes, Aging Gracelessly: The Unseemly Behavior of a Fae Femme Fatale? I thought that was the end for you.”
I give a little giggle and jump up from the mushroom chair. I’m not sure Dayton will ever stop taking my breath away, with his sun-kissed skin, chiseled jaw, and piercing turquoise eyes. He wraps his arms around me. “Did you have a good sleep?”