“There isn’t one, Rosie.”
Slowly, the door creaks open, and Astrid stands there, her face paler than usual.
“We’re in the middle of a meeting,” Kel says. “What is it?”
Her red eyes flick from me to Kel. “There’s someone here… Someone who says they’ve been invited to dinner.”
“Perth shouldn’t have arrived yet,” Keldarion says, waving a dismissive hand. “I certainly haven’t invited anyone.”
No, a smooth voice purrs in my mind, but you did.
My heart races. “It’s Caspian.”
24
Rosalina
The Prince of Thorns is at Castletree.
Kel stands up so fast his chair clatters to the ground. Ice grows from beneath his feet, a sheet cracking along the floor. “What is he doing here?”
A little peep escapes me as a memory returns.
“What?” Keldarion snarls.
I throw my burning face into my palms. “When we were dancing at the Winter Solstice Ball, I jokingly invited him.” Peering between my fingers, I gaze upon three stunned faces and my awkward reflection in Ezryn’s helmet. “But it’s not a big deal. I’ll tell him his invitation is rescinded after he threw his tantrum and destroyed the entire ballroom with his thorns.”
I jump up before any of them can stop me and rush out of the dining hall. Unsurprisingly, I’m followed by a 6’5 frosty giant. As I scurry past Astrid, I whisper an apology. The poor thing, I can only imagine how traumatizing it would be to hear a knock on the door and see the bloody Prince of Thorns standing there.
I march into the entrance hall, ready to tell Caspian to go to hell, but stagger to a stop. I find myself unable to draw in a full breath as I look upon him, radiant and otherworldly in his beauty.
He’s really gone all out for this dinner.
The Prince of Thorns is resplendent in his formal attire. A rich maroon shirt emphasizes the purple flecks in his dark, alluring eyes. His toned forearms are on display with sleeves rolled up. The fitted black trousers perfectly hug his legs, while a matching waistcoat adorned with shining buttons completes the ensemble. A cloak of shadows, black as night, drapes over his broad shoulders, adding a hint of magic to his already striking appearance.
A half smile curves his full lips, while his dark hair has been slicked back, except for a single piece that falls over his brow.
Surprisingly, Kel hasn’t launched into a tirade yet. I turn to see his stunned expression mirrors my own.
I guess it’s not every day you see your arch enemy standing in your entrance hall expecting dinner. They have some sort of history. A betrayal. My gaze drifts to Kel’s wrist. He has a bargain with Caspian, one he refuses to tell me about.
“Well,” Caspian’s dark eyes roam over us, “if it isn’t my two favorite people in all the Vale.”
“You’re not welcome here,” Kel finally speaks, stepping in front of me.
Caspian picks an invisible piece of lint from his shirt, positively unbothered. “Really, Kel? After your mate was so kind to invite me?”
So, he knows I’m Kel’s mate. “That was before you decided to spread your thorns in the Winter Realm,” I say.
“Hmm.” Caspian smirks. “I thought you liked my thorns, Princess.”
Two small vines slither up from the ground and twine around my ankles. Pleasure and pain, remember? His voice echoes in my mind.
I remember the day he watched me pleasure myself in the castle gardens. Rage sweeps through me, and I free myself from the briars.
It won’t be enough to ask him to leave. He’s too powerful. He’s literally got the entire castle under his wraps. And the princes’ magic is weak because of it, while his own remains unbridled. Perhaps even stronger if he truly is sucking the magic from Castletree. Keldarion can puff his chest all he wants, but the only way Caspian leaves here is if he wants to. “Tell me why you came.”
“Is it so hard to believe I want to eat dinner with you lovely fae?”
“Yes,” Keldarion and I say at the same time.
“Stars.” Caspian holds his hands up in a peaceful gesture. “Fine. I heard you have an impossible problem. And I love to figure out the impossible.”
“Farron?” I breathe.
Caspian reaches toward me, almost as if to touch my cheek, before dropping his hand. “Come now, loves,” he purrs. “I can hardly discuss details on an empty stomach.”
I’ve had my fair share of awkward dinners at this dining table. And I expected one with the Prince of Thorns to be the most awkward of all.
Except it’s not.
Not in the slightest.
Were the three fae princes surprised when Keldarion and I walked in with Caspian at our side? Indeed.
The vacant seat beside Farron and the ice wall didn’t please him, so he dragged the chair all the way around the table and pushed it between Keldarion and me, so now I’m in the middle of the Prince of Thorns and Ezryn.
But that was it, the only awkward thing. Because now, the wine is flowing, plates are empty and… everyone is laughing. Even Keldarion. And the Prince of Thorns has the goddamn cockiest shit-eating grin on his beautiful face.
I pop my fifth jelly tart into my mouth, waving away the wine Dayton offers me. Don’t these idiots realize the Prince of Thorns is here and we need to be on high alert? But they’re all so invested in some story he brought up. A memory of a lake by a place called the Prismatic Palace.
“I bloody knew it was you who put the frogs in Tilla’s bed,” Dayton laughs, his cheeks flushed from the wine.
Caspian just tilts his cup.
Farron clutches his belly and wheezes. “I remember asking Day if a rooster got loose in the palace. That’s what her scream sounded like.”
“Who is Tilla again?” I ask, losing count of all the names they’ve mentioned.
Caspian wipes a crumb off my cheek with a napkin. “Darling, swallow before you ask questions. No one can understand you with a mouth full of pastry.”
I meet his gaze, angrily swallowing. “Who. Is. Tilla?”
“Oh, Tilla.” Dayton draws out her name. “She was Kel’s old flame. Long golden hair, huge—”
“I don’t want to hear it!” I snarl, fire flashing inside me like a match lit.
“Huge armor.” Dayton slumps down in his chair. “She’d wear steel even over her dresses. She’s from the Spring Realm, after all.”
My eyes flick to Ezryn. At least he’s still on my side, acting his usual rigid self. Though I can’t see, I can feel his constant glare on Caspian.
“Why are they all acting like he’s some long-lost friend?” I whisper, leaning closer to Ezryn. “He’s the bloody Prince of Thorns.”
Ezryn gives a long sigh, and whispers back, “Because in a way, he is a long-lost friend. There was a time the five of us spent many nights like this together.” Ezryn hesitates, and I spy his fists tightening under the table. “And now we have no choice but to play this twisted game of pretend. With our magic so weakened, we cannot evict him from the castle. With his power unbound, challenging him to a fight would be unwise.”
I’d had the same thought earlier; I just didn’t think playing pretend with the Prince of Thorns would be so easy for the Princes of Castletree. Especially Kel.
“Ezryn.” Caspian leans on the table, twisting his body to us. “Do you remember? I think your brother came down to join us for a day, didn’t he?”
“Yes,” Ezryn says stiffly. “He lives in the Starweaver Mountain Range that encloses the Prismatic Palace.”
“Oh damn,” Dayton slurs. “You think Ez is intimidating in his armor? Just wait until you meet Kai. That guy is a scary motherfucker.”
“Kai is…” Ezryn immediately stiffens. “Kairyn is passionate about his beliefs.”
What’s Caspian’s game with this? If he’s trying to win Ez over, he just made him more uncomfortable.
“There was one night,” Caspian looks up as if striving to recall, “you both went out into the forest, and when we looked out, all the trees were lit up.”