The princes are milling about, claiming rooms and talking in quiet voices. I observe the matter-of-factness between Kel and Ezryn as they solidify plans to keep Farron safe tonight. Something happened between those two.
I lean my head on Astrid’s shoulder and try to take a peaceful moment. Large, arched windows offer a stunning view of the landscape outside: a riot of reds and golds from the massive trees that stand beyond the keep. We’ve been given a chance to clear Keldarion’s name and save the Autumn Realm. Together, we can do this. Farron can do this.
Farron. Where is he? “I’ll be right back,” I murmur to Astrid. I peer into a couple of the bedrooms, but don’t see him anywhere.
I push open the door to the corridor. He’s standing about halfway down the hallway, gazing up at a tapestry. I drift over and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him.
It’s not hard to tell the tapestry is of his family. There’s his mother in the middle, dark-haired and regal, though she’s depicted softer here than when I met her. His father, smiling and joyful. Two identical young boys in the distance, each riding a stag. Standing beside the large tree in the foreground is an adolescent girl. That must be Eleanor.
And right beside his mother is Farron: younger, but unmistakably him. Somehow, the tapestry manages to capture the curiosity in his gaze. I run my fingers over his shape. “You look really happy here.”
“For so long, it felt like nothing in my life ever changed. Like I was stuck reliving the same day over and over.” Farron’s voice is raspy, unsure. “And now I’ve woken up and realized that it was only me who was stuck. The world’s moved on. I can’t keep up.”
I lace my fingers through his.
“They’re so different,” he whispers, eyes still on the tapestry. “My brothers have become fighters. My mother can barely look at me. She was always so gentle with me. We used to take long carriage rides together, pass books back and forth. Now she’s waging war. And she can’t even look at me.”
“Fear changes people. She’s scared, Farron.”
“If she had Autumn’s Blessing, she could have already stopped this. But Autumn’s stuck with me. I can’t even remember the last time someone took back the Blessing.”
“It’s not all up to you.” I squeeze his hand. “We’re here with you. Kel, Ez, Dayton. Me. We’re here with you, Farron.”
“But isn’t that worse?” Tears well in his eyes, and he hastily wipes them away. “We have to break the curse. And they’re here for me. What about finding their mates? Saving themselves?”
“We have time.” Gently, I touch the side of his face and turn him away from the tapestry. “We’re going to struggle to break this curse if the realms are at war. I know it’s difficult to see, but you matter so much to them. Take strength from their love, Farron.” My breath catches in my throat. “Take strength from me.”
He stares down at me, eyes shining and mouth a half-opened question.
“I’m with you,” I say. “There and back. I’m with you.”
“I’m with you,” he repeats. “The whole way.”
I lace my arms around his neck, pulling him against me as if it could keep him safe. His embrace envelops me as he nuzzles into the curve of my neck.
If only you saw yourself how I see you.
“You have no idea how much I missed you,” he says.
“I can feel your heartbeat,” I whisper. It’s rapid and strong and I never want to tear myself away. I love this heart.
“Rosie?”
“Yes, Fare?”
“I think you’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”
I draw back slightly to study him, to map the contours of his face. My heart blooms like the sun from beyond the gray clouds. “I know you’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”
He leans his forehead against mine. “I guess we should get back to the others.”
“Yeah.” A window at the end of the hallway filters in red-orange dusk. “It’s almost night.”
Time to see if making a bargain with the devil was worth it.
34
Rosalina
I’ve never seen a sunset like this. The sky’s blistering red and orange, rays of light gleaming off the rooftops of Coppershire. Standing on the balcony outside of my private room, the capital city of the Autumn Realm stretches before me, bathed in crimson light.
Growing up in Orca Cove, it seemed like everyone around me was constantly exploring, wandering. Papa had hit one hundred countries before I was fifteen. Lucas’s family took fancy vacations every summer to Mexico or Europe. Even my school friends went to university abroad. The only traveling I ever did was in my stories, but that felt like enough.
Now, staring down at the bustling city, the buildings a mix of brick, lumber, and shimmering gems, I wish I could sprint from the castle and lose myself in the markets and alleyways. For once, the whole world feels ahead of me.
But as much as I want to revel in that thought, my gaze drifts higher, beyond the city and the fields and forests that border Coppershire. Over the orange-baked hills, a glimmer of white-blue shines on the edge of the horizon. The frost.
I rub my arms. I’d tried to put on a brave face for Farron, but I’m scared, too. I just got this world back. I can’t lose it.
The men are preparing Farron’s room as best they can, in case Caspian’s bargain is bullshit. But somehow, I know it will work. There was something about Caspian that seemed… sincere.
You’re a fool like them, Rosalina, I chide myself.
I should go back inside and check on everyone. But I can’t tear myself away from this sunset, the apple-scented breeze that makes my white sleeves billow like wings.
Metal clinks behind me. I turn to see Ezryn leaning against the doorway. Somehow, I get the feeling he’s been there for a while and only shifted so that his armor would alert me to his presence.
“Hi,” I say softly.
He doesn’t reply but moves to rest against the balcony railing beside me, staring out at the horizon. The sun gleams off his armor in a way that makes me think of legends of Sir Lancelot riding into battle.
“How are you doing?” he asks slowly, almost as if he had to think about those words for a long time.
My stomach twists nervously. I haven’t really had a chance to talk to him since our kiss in the pantry where he’d walked out, leaving me stunned. My fingers trail over the railing, and I try to forget how good they felt tangled in his thick hair.
“I’m okay,” I answer. “I’m pretty used to being imprisoned by faeries, you know.”
He snorts. “At least you didn’t have to spend a night in the dungeon this time.”
“True.” The wind catches my long hair and sends it tumbling across my face. I stare at him through the waves. His shoulders are slumped, body heavy. “Are you okay?”
Why do I get the impression no one ever asks him that?
“Princess Niamh mentioned she sent word to Spring but never heard back. My father is the steward there. It borders Winter on the other side.” His dark cape flutters in the wind. “My father’s been sick for a long time.”
I place a hand on his arm. “Do you want to go to him?”
He shakes his head, little tings ringing in the air. “Farron and Kel need me right now. Besides, my brother would send word if something were wrong, I’m sure.” He reaches into his chest plate and pulls out a piece of parchment. It’s filled with the same beautiful handwriting I saw on the jars in the healing pantry. “But I’m writing to Father to be certain.”
I notice now he’s not wearing his leather gloves, his large, tanned hands delicately running over the paper. My breath quickens as I remember their firmness on my waist, the strength as he pushed me back into the shelves.
With quick and elegant movements, Ezryn folds the parchment over and over again, then holds it up in his palm.
“A bird!” I gasp. “That’s magnificent. I was never good at origami. Mine always came out looking like someone sat on it.”