When we first arrived in the Autumn Realm last month, he was still wearing the usual vests and suspenders he wore at Castletree. But a few days ago, I heard Marigold scolding him: “You’re the High Prince, Farron. You ought to dress like it!” Now, he’s donned a shirt of spider silk in an iridescent burnt orange, draped by a long coat of fiery red. Tight-fitting trousers hug his lean legs, leading to boots of polished chestnut leather.
Though Marigold hadn’t been able to convince him to cut his hair. For that, I’m grateful. I’d miss the way his fluffy auburn locks fall over his eyes, or how they curl at the base of his neck.
I shut the tome with a thud. “This book doesn’t have what I’m looking for. I’ll try another.” I walk to the far end of the library and scan the titles. Bless the ancient Queen who created the Enchanted Vale; Farron told me long ago that one of the many charms she laid on the land was of universal language. Without it, the words in these books would be like gibberish to me.
“Rumor has it the Queen had a real soft spot for humans,” Farron had informed me when I questioned him about it. “She wanted to make sure they could flourish in the Enchanted Vale.”
“So, I can understand any fae language while I’m here?”
“Mostly,” he replied. “There are some dialects that were created after she placed the enchantment. Spring has a particular tongue they speak in their monasteries. Sometimes, Ezryn swears in it when he’s mad, and I have no idea what he’s saying.”
I had suppressed a laugh, remembering how I’d been on the other end of a deluge like that back in the human world. I wonder what he’d said.
Now, I skim each title, trying to find a book I haven’t read yet. I come up empty.
“I don’t get it,” I say, collapsing back at the table beside Farron. “Everyone talks about Autumn’s legendary researchers and the brilliant spells encased in parchment. But this library is small. It’s not even half the size of Castletree’s.” I hold my arms out wide. “Where are all the books?”
Farron stills, eyes drifting off the page and looking inward to a faraway place I can’t get to. He opens his mouth, but no words come out.
“Farron?” I touch his shoulder. “Is everything alright?”
“There… was a fire,” he whispers. “Much of Autumn’s ancient knowledge was lost.”
“Oh no. I’m sorry.” A shameful blush heats my cheeks. “This library’s plenty big. I’m sure we’ll find answers here. We just have to keep looking.”
Farron sighs. “I was hoping something would have been saved that could help one of us.”
We’ve both been researching different things. As pressing as the frost is, I can’t forget about my promise to help the princes. And after seeing their strange, tangled mate bonds, I thought I could find more meaning if there was a text on the legendary will-o’-wisps. But I’ve had no such luck.
Farron, on the other hand, has been searching the spellbooks for an incantation that can help against the wraiths. Princess Niamh has sent successful parties out with torches and magic to eliminate some of the ice creatures invading the lands, but without finding the source, more keep coming.
When the frost reaches the capital, Autumn will go to war with Winter.
And though Farron may be High Prince, he does not have control or sway over his people the way Princess Niamh does.
“Here’s a passage on the Emberwood,” I say, running my hand over the finely lined page. “But it doesn’t say anything about the will-o’-wisps.”
“Maybe they showed us everything we need to know,” Farron says. “Dayton, Ez, and I are just broken on the inside.”
“Don’t say that.” I grab his hand. “Never say that.”
He gives his head a shake and smiles. “Truly, if anyone’s broken, it’s Keldarion. I can’t imagine seeing my mate bond in front of me and not…”
My eyes meet his, a strike of lightning between us. “Wanting to consummate it right there,” I finish quietly.
Farron sucks in a tight breath through his nose. “He would be free. All he has to do is accept the mate bond.”
The way Farron’s looking at me… It’s a look of pure anguish. I don’t know why, but I can’t bear it. I turn away from him, pretending to bury myself in my reading. “Kel took me to his bed the other night and then sent me away before anything really happened. He would rather watch all his magic drain away and be stuck as a beast forever than mate with me.”
“Well, Keldarion is a fool,” Farron mutters. Without me realizing it, he’s scooted closer, and we’re arm to arm, both staring down at our books, but not reading.
I know I should keep my mouth shut, but I feel raw with rejection. I can’t help but lament. “I don’t know. He’s not the only one who doesn’t want to be with me.”
Farron looks at me through long waves of auburn.
I can’t stop it: the word vomit. It rushes out in a pathetic and ridiculous deluge. “Dayton rejected me the other night. Do you understand how that feels? He’ll be with any random person he finds, but he says no to me? And yes, it happened because I accidentally said Kel’s name, but not like that. I was just thinking about Kel, but not because I was pretending Dayton was him—”
Farron’s staring at me wide-eyed, brows raised.
I can’t help it. The word vomit’s still coming. “I thought I knew where I stood with Dayton, but now I’m not sure. And talking about where I stand with people, a month ago, Ezryn and I… Well, I don’t really know what we did. But it was a thing. A thing-thing, you know? But he’s back to acting like I’m some pariah he can barely look at! Honestly, I should be grateful for Keldarion’s actions because at least I know he hates me. The wondering… That’s the hardest part.”
Farron blinks once, twice, then shakes his head. He laughs joylessly to himself. “Yeah, tell me about it,” he grumbles. “The wondering is the hardest part.”
He shuts the book and stands up.
“Farron?” I reach after him. “Did I say something that hurt you?”
He turns away from me, shoulders slumped. “No, Rosie. It’s me. I’m thinking of all the things I should have done differently.” He looks over his shoulder. “I really should have decided sooner in the hot springs, huh?”
“What are you talking about?” I drift over to him and grab his hand.
“Dayton, Ezryn, Kel… At least they had enough courage to act on their feelings once so they won’t ever live with that regret.” He stares up at the ceiling, a gold-crested mural of dusk-drenched clouds. “The Enchantress’s curse is right again.”
I shake my head, totally lost. “Farron?”
He closes his eyes and takes a shuddering breath. “Come on.” He pulls me toward the door. “I’m going to show you why I was cursed.”
45
Farron
“We’re almost there,” I say.
We walked just outside of the keep to a grove of trees. Rosalina is quiet, and I’m grateful for her patience with me.
She’s too patient. You took too long, Farron. I close my eyes at the thought. It wasn’t jealousy that spurred me earlier in the library, at least not in the traditional sense. Rosalina’s affections for the other princes are both understandable and comforting—though she laments their rejections. Instead, I’m filled with anger at myself.
How often have I been in her presence, aching to hold her, to press my lips against hers and whisper my longing? Every moment we’ve spent together burns in my mind, all the different times I could have let her know she is not just a companion to me, but the absolute focus of my affections.
But instead, I’ve hesitated. Restrained myself.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?” she asks.
I take a deep breath. “To Coppershire’s first library.”
“Oh!” Rosalina flutters with excitement. “Where is it?”
“It was treated as a sacred space built right outside Keep Oakheart. You might have seen it from your room, though after the fire, a grove of trees was planted around it to hide the remains from view.”
We slip between the tightly knit trees into an opening drenched in cool sunlight.