“After you took such tender care of me, I slept like a lamb.” His eyes flicker as he looks past me. I turn.
Farron stares at Dayton, eyes wavering, lip trembling. I look back to the Summer Prince, the scar over his eye still bright red, the gash peeking out from beneath his shirt. I remember seeing a scar over his back, too.
Are these all from Farron?
“You know,” Dayton looks down at me, but I know his words are for Farron, “I was thinking of telling Ez not to get rid of this completely.” He runs a finger over the red mark across his eye. “It makes me look dashing. Don’t you think, Rosie?”
I let out a laugh, trying to lighten the mood. “I’m not sure you need any more charm. Though it does suit you.”
Ezryn probably could have already healed it, but he’s been using so much of his magic on Lucas.
Farron says nothing. He’s withdrawn deep into himself, arms crossed over his chest.
“Everything’s sorted with your brothers. Got them confined to a chamber in the Autumn Wing,” Dayton continues. “Your father’s fitting in, eh, Blossom? Every time I see him, he’s absolutely surrounded by staff. They’re entranced by all his fascinating stories of the human world.”
I can’t help but grin. My father is a born storyteller, and I’m glad he’s finding his place here.
“We’ve got a few hours before the big meeting, and I have the perfect idea.” Dayton grabs my shoulder and reaches for Farron who dodges out of his grip. “You two are tense. And what better way to relax than with a dip in the hot springs?”
21
Dayton
It was a fucking bad idea to go into the hot springs butt-ass naked. Not that I would’ve done it any other way. I just didn’t expect Rosalina to show up looking like a goddess.
She’d run to her room before we walked down to the grotto. I can only assume Marigold and Astrid fixed her up perfectly for this occasion, those little scoundrels.
Rosalina’s wearing a long black dress that wraps tightly around her arms before becoming almost sheer, with fabric crisscrossing over her full waist. It offers me a sight of what she has on underneath, or lack thereof. Only the swimming equivalent of a black bra and panties.
Beneath the translucent fabric, her breasts look so full. Her soft stomach and thighs yearn to be grabbed. Fuck, I’m so hard, it’ll be clear the moment she gets close.
Right now, Rosalina stands at the sloping entrance of the hot springs, running her feet through the sand.
The water is crystal clear and glows with an ethereal light. The steam rises from the surface, carrying the scent of salt and citrus. I let out a contented sigh and sink deeper, feeling the tension in my muscles ease. It’s peaceful here. The hot springs in Castletree have always been my retreat, and I’m more than happy to share it with these two.
My gaze drifts over to Farron, sitting beside the waterfall. Damn, I’m surprised a storm cloud hasn’t formed above his head, he’s so gloomy. I guess losing control of his beast, hurting me, having his stupid-ass brothers attempt to assassinate the Protector of the Realms, and learning his mommy went over his head to declare war on Winter is a lot to deal with.
But Rosie’s back. Doesn’t that make everything better?
Slowly, I wade over to him. Farron didn’t even get in. Perched on the rocky rim, pants rolled up to his knees, he kicks his feet like a forlorn puppy.
He flinches away from me as I near, but I know it’s not because he doesn’t want my touch. He’s afraid of hurting me again.
I turn back to our girl. “Coming in, Blossom?”
“Yeah,” she says, then her dark brows shoot up, and she touches the moonstone rose pendant on her necklace. “I almost forgot. This is glued together, so I don’t know how it’ll hold up in the water.”
“Got your own special locket now, eh?”
“Kind of. It’s broken.”
Farron quirks his head. “Bring it here. Maybe I can fix it.”
“Always tinkering with something,” I tease.
Rosalina walks along the edge of the hot springs and places her moonstone necklace into Farron’s palm. He examines it for a moment before tucking it into his breast pocket.
Rosalina plops down beside him, letting her feet sink in the water. She tilts her head back and lets out a soft moan. “This feels so good.”
I see my reaction mirrored on Farron. It’s bloody dangerous for her to make those noises around us. Her eyes flutter open as she gazes at my body, and there’s no way she can’t perceive my hard length beneath the water.
“Sorry,” I say, gesturing down at my uncontrollable cock. “It’s been a while.”
She eyes Farron and I. “You two haven’t…?”
“It’s hard to be with someone when they’re too drunk to stand,” Farron mutters.
And it’s hard to fuck a ghost. Because that’s what Farron had been after she left. He’d go to the library and open books, but he wasn’t reading, wasn’t researching. Sometimes at night, I’d creep up to the dungeon to watch the wolf thrash in its cell, because seeing its fury reminded me that at least there was one emotion left in him.
“Well, I’m glad to see you’re not drunk now,” Rosalina teases me.
“The only thing I’m drunk on is your beauty,” I say. She flushes and Farron leans down, playfully splashing me.
“Hey.” I wade closer, placing my lips to the bare skin of his knee. “You’re beautiful, too.”
A soft, surprised sound comes from the back of his throat, and desire floods me. Now that she’s home, my cock aches for him. Aches for her, too. But I try to temper that desire. She’s Kel’s mate. Something I always suspected, but now we know for sure.
When I saw Rosalina in the library, I could tell she was troubled. I gently run a hand up her soft leg. She flushes but doesn’t push me away. “Is everything okay?”
She bites her lip, as if deciding what to say to us. “Oh, yes. I mean, if okay means having your fated mate tell you that he’d rather fuck every single person in the Enchanted Vale over you, and that even the prospect of breaking the curse, of freeing his magic and realm, isn’t enough to debase himself for one night to try.”
I take a breath to let her words sink in, then anger boils in me so hot, I swear the water temperature rises. “What the fuck? Kel said that?”
“He wants nothing to do with me.” She shrugs her shoulders. Her voice holds steady, but I can only imagine the hurt she’s hiding inside.
“Kel…” Farron puts his hands behind his head. “He cares about you. I know he does. But sending you away, rejecting the mate bond… It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Typical,” I say. “Keldarion’s always been like this. Secretive bastard. He doesn’t trust any of us. Not even Ezryn. Not even his mate.”
A curl has fallen loose from the bundle on Rosie’s head. There are flowers pinned in her hair. Damn, if she isn’t the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. So, what if she’s human? That can’t be why Kel doesn’t want her. If she was my mate, I’d—
I stop myself. I won’t permit myself to think like that. That’s too dangerous a game. All I know is when or if I find my mate, they won’t be able to compare to the two people sitting above me.
“And I have a secret of my own,” Rosalina says. “One you must keep.”
Farron and I exchange a look before I slide my fingers down her calf to her foot. “Prince’s honor.”
Her light brown eyes flick to the entrance of the hot springs, back to us. “Ezryn… Ezryn kissed me!” She slaps her hands over her mouth, as if she can’t believe she just admitted it.
“What?” Farron and I exclaim at the same time.
“Did you see his face?”
She shakes her head. “No, he was super dramatic. Like punched out a light then kissed me.” Her voice quavers. “Then he just left.”
“That’s not like Ez at all,” I muse, still in awe of her words. “How was it?”
“Magical.” A dreamy expression crosses over her face before her eyes go wide. “You’re not going to chop off his hands or anything, right?”