“Learned some new tricks since I last saw you, Quellos?” Kel mutters.
“We can’t all wield a Blessing. Some of us must study our way to higher power,” Perth retorts, walking to the door.
Dayton stomps over and switches the handle to the emblem of the snowflake. It opens with a creak, and a gust of bitter wind flits in.
Lucas stumbles unsteadily to his feet and hobbles after Perth. He pauses beside me.
“Goodbye, Lucas,” I say, lifting my chin defiantly.
He gives a half-laugh, half-sigh. “You know, I had this dream once. I’d fallen asleep after gutting a deer. I dreamt I was fucking you. While you were screaming, I took my knife and sliced your skin. And I removed each of your organs until I got to your heart and squeezed it.”
A frigid terror grips my body as a twisted smile creeps over Lucas’s face. “I thought of it many times after that, when you were beneath me.” Sickening glee fills his voice. “I don’t think I’ll survive this. Not really. But at least I’ll take you with me.”
With a swift motion, Lucas raises his arm, revealing the ice knife glittering in his hand. He must have picked it up. He brings it down toward my chest.
Time seems to still. All the princes lurch toward me. Thorns explode around Caspian. Ezryn grips my waist and pulls me back, but he’s too slow. The blade nicks my arm, and my blood sprays over the ground.
Each drop falls onto the icy floor, loud as a sonic boom.
I look up to see the wild frost blue eyes of Keldarion before he changes. His skin shifts, fur and claws breaking free as a giant white wolf emerges. It lunges toward us, tackling Lucas.
Lucas doesn’t have time to scream before Kel’s claws slice down his middle. Blood gushes up, staining Kel’s white fur. Massive jaws clamp down on Lucas’s head, teeth piercing the skull with a crunch. Sinew is ripped from bone, Lucas’s head barely clinging to his shoulder. With his jaws fastened around the torso, Kel shakes the limp, lifeless body and throws it through the door into the Winter Realm.
Ezryn holds me against his metallic frame, tight as a vice grip. Dayton’s sheltering Farron, who is curled into a ball, shivering. “She’s safe,” Dayton says over and over to him. “He’s dead. Kel killed him. We don’t need your wolf now. She’s safe. She’s safe. Kel protected us.”
Perth has collapsed by the door, shaking. Keldarion walks over to him, maw dripping with blood.
“Now you know, Vizier, that not only is Castletree dying,” Keldarion growls, “we princes are cursed. Return to the Winter Realm and throw that scum’s remains in the deepest pits of the Frosted Wastes. Do not disappoint me in your duties.”
30
Keldarion
My wet hair falls over my shoulders as I make my way up from the hot springs. I’m finally cleansed of that monster’s blood.
I don’t regret it, even though Quellos saw my truth. This will be the utmost test of his loyalty. His claims of uncertainty about the frost seemed sincere, and it’s very likely I missed his summons while I was deep in the cold depression of my wolf. But will he send patrols to the border as I commanded now that he knows a beast rules his realm? Surely, after all of his years of loyal service to my family, he will find forgiveness for a beast.
Besides, I ordered him to have the Kryodian Riders investigate the situation. They are Winter’s elite squadron of mounted warriors, honed by years of rigorous training and harmoniously bonded with their steeds. I must have faith in the strength left in Winter.
Even the hot springs could not chase the weariness from my body. Dayton had stayed on the edge of the grotto, not giving me a moment’s peace. He was most likely bored since Farron had retired early, drained from the bargain. Ezryn had muttered something about guarding the grounds, voice shaky with rage.
And Caspian disappeared into his thorns.
“Excuse me, Master, move that firm ass.” I leap to the side as a woman with a large tray comes racing by. “Got to get this out while it’s hot.”
“Marigold?” I grumble before silently following her.
She disappears into Rosalina’s chambers. Laughter cascades from within. I stop at the entrance and peer through the crack in the door.
The room overflows with staff, all the friends Rosalina has made here. Marigold unloads the tray filled with cookies and hot chocolate. Rose grabs a mug and takes a sip, and Astrid giggles as she wipes whipped cream off Rosalina’s face.
On her couch, Paavak and Mandaria lounge with a tall stack of books. Flavia holds up outfit considerations for the Autumn Realm. Rosalina has a beautiful smile on her face. Despite the trials of earlier, she is still safe and happy here.
Her smile is mirrored tenfold in those around her. She brings light to the staff. I thought I had been doing the right thing sending her to the human world. But I had only brought her closer to a monster.
No, she must remain here. A new comfort settles in me. I saw firsthand today how my brothers would protect her with their lives. I feel the strange semblance of my own smile as I click Rosalina’s door shut and continue to my quarters.
Inside, I cross the icy expanse to my wardrobe. Reaching behind my back, I tug off my shirt, tossing it into a bin, then begin to undo the laces of my pants.
“Well, aren’t we eager?” a dangerously smooth voice says.
I whirl. There he is, lounging on my bed as if he belongs there.
“I told you to leave.”
Caspian raises up on the back of his arms, a frown on his lips. “Before dessert?”
“Get out,” I snarl, storming toward him.
“You smell delicious with all that wretch’s blood off you.” Caspian tilts his head back, black hair falling over his shoulder. He’s removed his jacket, now wearing only a simple shirt and trousers, the laces loose. “I wanted the honor of torturing him before he met his end.”
“It was Rosalina’s choice.”
“And your advisor’s fault,” Caspian says. “She longed to let me.”
“What are you doing here?” I lean against one of the bedposts. “You made your bargain.”
“But I haven’t gotten what I want.” His gaze is a brand. “Only you can give me that, Kel.”
My hand instinctively goes to my wrist, rubbing the bargain tattoo. “I’ll never give in.”
“Then you’ll never break your curse.”
“Isn’t that exactly what you want?” I turn away from him and walk to the fireplace. It hasn’t been lit in so long.
He looses a long, deep sigh. “Like that dim mind of yours could possibly comprehend what I want.”
I stack the logs, then grab a match and light the fire. Flames spurt up, filling the room with warmth. When I stand up, he’s still lying there. His arms are stretched high above his head, lifting his shirt to reveal his sharp hip bones.
“You were right,” I say.
He sits up in a whirl, a surprised, genuine smile on his face.
But I should know by now, nothing about him is genuine.
“What did you say, Keldarion?”
“That you were right.” I close the distance between us. “Rosalina did not need to awaken that darkness in her heart. At least not for this.”
“Oh, I love when you talk to me this way.” Caspian kneels on the edge of the bed, narrowing his dark gaze.
“You don’t hate her.”
“I could sneak some frogs into her bed if it would make you feel better. But I think she’d assume they were cursed staff and befriend them.”
I can’t help but laugh at the thought, and when I glance back down at Caspian, he’s giving me a peculiar look. “Maybe that icy heart of yours can be pierced.”
He’s being strange tonight. There’s a softness to him I haven’t seen in years. Though I know it’s an act, I can’t stop myself from asking the very question plaguing me. “What would you do if she came to you?”