“No,” Dayton snarls. “He doesn’t get to fucking do that. It’s his damned vizier who’s attacking Autumn! He can’t abandon us. Not now.”
Farron looks to the floor. “I thought Kel might have finally found something worth fighting for.”
A joyless, muffled laugh escapes Ezryn. “Kel proves again he only fights for traitors and villains.”
No… No, they can’t be right. Kel can’t truly be leaving on the edge of battle. For all his faults, he loves us.
Or at least, he loves them.
“Stay here,” I say and rush out of the tower. I finally catch him just as he exits the stairwell to the ramparts above the entrance hall.
“Kel,” I snap, “where are you going?”
His shoulders stiffen. “I’m leaving.”
“Why?”
He turns to face me, and for a moment, a strange softness settles over his gaze.
“Are you leaving because of me and Farron?” I ask, my voice breaking. “Because I have another mate?”
“Of course not.” He drifts a hand to my chin, and his voice is low as he murmurs, “I am so grateful that you will know the love of a good man.”
I place my hand over his, holding onto it as if I could keep him here with me. “You are a good man. Prove it, Kel. Stand with Autumn tomorrow. Fight for—”
“Rosalina,” Kel says, his voice quiet but filled with purpose, “do you have faith I will come back?”
I stare into his eyes, losing myself in the delicate swirls of ice blue. The one part of him that seems fragile. “Yes,” I whisper.
Kel pulls me into him and captures my mouth. All the anger and wanting and pain that our mate bond has brought us surges between our lips. My hands tangle in his hair, and his hands grip me roughly around my waist, pulling me tighter and tighter. I kiss him with everything I am, the act a plea not to go and a surrender all at once.
Finally, he tears away. “My Rose,” he says, and then nothing else. He strides to the mirror, and it ripples, revealing the Autumn realmlands. With a shiver, his body shifts into that of the cursed Winter wolf. The beast charges into the mirror.
“You’ll come back,” I whisper to the wind. “Because I did.”
73
Rosalina
I tumble into a soft cloud of pillows and sheets. After staying up all night, a nap is certainly in order.
The curtains are shuttered closed, but the golden sun seeps in through the cracks. Though my body is exhausted and sore, I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep. Not with an impending army on our doorstep.
My door creeps open, and the familiar clank of metal sounds as Ezryn steps in. I start to rise, but he says softly, “Don’t get up.”
I settle back to the pillows. He sits beside me, running a gentle gloved hand over my cheek.
“I hope I didn’t wake you,” he says.
“Not at all.”
His visor tilts down. “It’s hard to rest on the edge of battle. No matter how many wars I’ve fought, it never gets any easier.”
“Maybe we’ll rest easier together.” I tug on his arm. “Lay down with me.”
A breathy sigh reverberates from his helm. “I wish I could, Petal. But I came to say goodbye.”
“Goodbye?” I force my blurry eyes to focus. “You’re not leaving too, are you?”
“No, I’ll be back by sunset. There’s a scouting party riding out to spy on Quellos’s numbers and weapons. I’m going to accompany them.”
The thought of Ezryn leaving so soon after Kel causes a hollow pit to form in my stomach. “I’m sure Autumn has capable scouts.”
“I would prefer to see for myself.”
I sigh. “You can just say you don’t trust anyone else to do the job.”
He gives a little snort of amusement. “When I return, I’ll also assist in preparing the land around the wall for the attack.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“You’ve already rescued the High Prince of Autumn,” Ezryn says. “You, Farron, and Dayton need to rest. No one fights in close combat like the Prince of Summer, and your mate will need all his strength to lead tomorrow. This is the best use of my power.”
I’m silent for a moment, musing on his words, before I put my hand over his. “Will you stay with me for just a little longer?”
He tilts his helm. I feel his hidden gaze on me like a caress. “Until you fall asleep.”
The bed sinks as he lays beside me, his body stiff. I curl over him, nestling my head into the crook of his shoulder and laying my leg over his. My finger swirls lazy patterns over the intricate designs on his chest plate.
“This can’t be comfier than the bed,” he murmurs, but his arm has wrapped around my body.
“It is,” I mumble. “I could stay here forever.”
His fingers drift through my hair. “If only.”
“If only,” I echo, trying not to let my eyes droop. If this is my last quiet moment with Ezryn before the battle, I want to cherish it for as long as I can.
But sleep claims me anyway. As I’m fading away, I hear Ezryn whisper, “Trust in me, Rosalina. This is how I can show you, Farron, Dayton, and Kel that I… I can protect you all.”
The setting sun shines brightly on the horizon, casting Coppershire in golden light.
I cross my arms over my chest. “This is the worst part, the waiting.”
Farron lets out a long sigh. “I know what you mean. I almost wish they would arrive now.”
It’s agony, knowing Perth Quellos’s legion of monsters will be here by tomorrow. We’ve prepared the city. The soldiers are armed, defenses manned, and supplies stocked. I woke from my nap after a couple hours. Ezryn has left with the scouting team to gather intel on numbers and capabilities. Keldarion is gone without even a hint of where he went. Some whisper he won’t return… But in my heart, I know he’ll come back.
“Even my books fail to keep my attention,” I say finally. “I must really be nervous.”
Farron pulls me against his chest, lips dipping to my neck. “Well, I could think of a few things to distract you.”
I giggle, melting into his arms and savoring the taste of my mate’s lips over my skin.
Farron, my mate. The thought still lights my whole self. I take his face in my hands and kiss him, knowing with every part of me that he’s mine. It was meant to be. From the first moment I met him, slumped in that dungeon cell, I was called to him.
“Rosie, I can’t just have you once. I need you again.”
I let my arms loop around his shoulders. Though I’ve only napped for a few hours, I feel surprisingly awake. I wonder how long Ezryn stayed with me after I’d fallen asleep. “Wasn’t the order to rest before tomorrow?”
“You, me, the bed? That’s restful.”
My core heats, aching for him.
“Farron, wait. There’s something we should do.”
His face furrows in a grimace, already knowing what I’m going to say.
“We need to talk to Dayton.”
Farron shakes his head, and I feel the turmoil pass through him, though I’m not sure if it’s from almost killing the Summer Prince in his wolf form or facing the man he loves after the awakening of his mate bond.
Placing a gentle hand on his arm, I try to ease some of his worries. “I hope you know I would never want you to give him up.”
“I’m your mate. I belong to you.”
“And because of that, I know your heart is big enough for both of us. Plus, I have another mate. Not that he wants anything to do with me.”
“I know Kel. Before he left, there was a deep pain in parting from you.”
“It’s just the dumb bond.”
“Hey, you don’t get to call it a dumb bond now.” He places a kiss on my ear.
“Remember what we spoke of in the hot springs… Does this bond change any of it for you?”
Farron pulls back. “You mean when Day said that if you were with anyone else, he’d kill them and fuck you in their blood?”
Crimson stains my cheeks. “Yes. That.”
Farron tilts his head to the side, considering. “Kel is your mate. I know Dayton well enough to see how much he cares about you. And Ez is so important to me. The idea of you being there for him makes me happy. So no, it hasn’t changed at all.”
“Okay,” I say.
“Unless you want me to growl and get all jealous. I could try that.”
“Well, one of the guards does like staring at my chest—”
Farron grips my shoulders. “Nope, I don’t like that at all.”