“The crown is broken but the wraiths live,” Ezryn says, drawing our attention back to the fight. Though the cavalry has handled a great number of them, our troops are retreating, the undead too plentiful.
“There’s another crown,” Farron says. “Rosalina and I saw someone else wearing one at the war camp.”
Ezryn spins around. “No sign of him now. You must use the spell to rest the dead again.”
A horrified emptiness takes over Farron’s face. “My magic is depleted. I’ve got nothing left.”
A desperate fear spreads throughout us. I turn, staring out at the battlefield. Our soldiers scream, a new panic lacing their features as they are attacked by their own comrades. Many abandon their posts, sprinting toward the city walls.
No, it can’t have all come to this. My family has given up everything. I brought the Kryodian Riders to their doom. Farron has lost his mother. There has to be a way for us to fix this—
“Take my magic.”
We look to Dayton. Blood paints the blond hair hanging over his shoulders, and his chest heaves, but there’s a strength to him, a strength that reminds me of his older brother, the former High Prince of Summer.
Dayton cups Farron’s face. “Take my magic, Fare. Take it and end this.”
Farron shakes beneath his touch. “What are you talking about? That’s impossible.”
“No, it’s not.” Dayton’s eyes turn steely. “Make a bargain with me.”
My chest heaves as I look between Dayton and Farron. The air is thick between them, as if the ancient magic of the world senses something powerful is about to happen.
“I can’t take your magic,” Farron breathes.
“Trust him,” I say and look down at Rosalina. “Not all bargains are evil.”
It was, in fact, a bargain with this stubborn, tenacious woman that gave hope to Castletree.
She smiles up at me, eyes shining with tears. “And not all who make bargains are evil.”
The thorn and snowflake tattoo on my wrist seems to sing, and I wrap my hand around it. But my doubt dissipates as I see the expression on her face. She’s looking at Farron and Dayton with pure affection. As if their happiness is her happiness.
There’s the ting of a sword as Ezryn leaps forward, blocking a charging wraith. “You alone can save us, Farron. It doesn’t matter what we say. Trust yourself!”
The wraiths have sensed us, their bodies still fleshy and fae-like. I draw my sword, stepping in front of Dayton and Farron. “We’ll protect you.”
Purple vines erupt out of the ground, roiling like waves. Rosalina shoots a look over her shoulder at Farron as the thorns swallow up three wraiths. “For the Autumn Realm.”
Farron’s eyes gleam. “For you all.” He places his hand over Dayton’s. “Let’s make a bargain.”
85
Dayton
I’ve never made a bargain before. Crazy, I know. All fae make bargains. But I never wanted to be held to anything.
But now, I know I’ll do anything to hold on to this.
Magic laces my words, and they sparkle like champagne in my mouth as I kneel down before the High Prince of Autumn.
It’s easy to make a bargain, I realize. You just speak from the heart.
“Farron, son of Autumn, I pledge my magic to you. May it always be at your disposal. May you take my power and make it yours; may I be a vessel and conduit; may you siphon my magic and let it flow through you. Through every season and every storm, may I belong to you.” Emotion claws up my throat, and I fight to keep sight of him through my blurring vision. “In return, vow to me you will never forget this moment. Who we are now. When you loved me. And when I fucking loved you.”
Farron’s face breaks in emotion, and he pulls me up, wrapping his arms around me. A turquoise light shimmers around us; the bargain magic hovering, waiting for the agreement.
Farron nods. “It’s a bargain, Day. Through every storm and every season.”
The space between us shivers and sighs. A string of gold made light bursts from Farron’s helm, and a sprig of silver from my blade does the same. They twine together, becoming corporeal, before wrapping around one of my wrists and one of Farron’s.
“Take it, Farron,” I say through gritted teeth. “Take my magic and save your people.”
He cries out, and golden light mixes with the turquoise shimmer. A strange sensation ebbs through me; not a siphoning, but a gentle trickle. I feel Farron’s touch within me, his own magic coaxing mine out in a gentle sway.
Farron doesn’t let go of me as he whispers the spell. The incantation laces itself through the wind, a sigh upon the breeze. Autumn soldiers and Kryodian Riders slash at empty air as their enemies turn to dust and settle back into the earth.
The battlefield is silent.
The glow lessens, and my muscles go slack. Farron catches me before I hit the earth.
“Did it work, Fare?” I whisper, already knowing the answer.
“It worked,” Kel says, putting a hand on both mine and Farron’s shoulders. “Congratulations. You’ve just saved your realm.”
The battlefield is in clean up mode. Perth is chained in silver and watched over by Keldarion and Ezryn.
The other soldiers are helping the wounded or collecting the dead. As is the nature of war, bodies litter the ground. But there would surely be many more if it wasn’t for Rosalina’s bravery and Farron’s courage.
Farron was radiant, power ebbing out of him in glowing waves. The ram crown of the High Prince glistens in the afternoon light. His eyes still glow with a radiance that reminds me of his wolf.
I stretch my fingers. He drained me of all magic. I know a visit to Castletree will restore my reserves, but with this bargain, it’ll forever be at his beck and call.
A bargain I don’t and will never regret.
Autumn is the death of life. Farron always used to tell me that. But now that magic, his magic, brought the natural cycle of the Enchanted Vale back in order.
My heart has never been so full of love for him.
And Rosalina, his mate. She stands beside him, looking like a true Autumn princess, dark hair framing her beautiful face. A painful yearning throbs in my chest when I look at them.
My heart stutters as I focus back on the battlefield. Padraig, Billigan, and Dominic kneel before a body covered in Padraig’s golden cloak.
Princess Niamh. I try to push away the sorrow threatening to overtake me. She’d always been like a second mother to me, had comforted me when I lost my own mother… And now we’ve lost her as well.
With a sudden stark realization, it hits me hard that among the five of us—Rosie, Kel, Ez, Fare and I—there is not a single mother left.
I turn to Rosalina now, stance strong, but there’s worry etched across her face. “What’s on your mind, Blossom?”
Her eyes flick back and forth. “I’m concerned,” she says. “I thought I saw a figure with a crown like Perth’s earlier. Day, he looked like—”
A hacking laugh sounds. Perth Quellos sneers over at us.
“Be silent, you foul creature.” Ezryn delivers a swift kick to the chains around his ankles, but Perth keeps laughing.
Rosalina and I slowly approach, and I place a protective grip around her waist. Perth inclines his head, as if offering a secret.
The five of us exchange wary glances. What can he do? He’s in chains.
“You’ve,” Perth gives a croaking wheeze, “lost.”
A sense of foreboding seeps into my bones, dread that I can’t quite explain.
“You’re the one bound for Winter’s dungeon,” Kel growls.
Perth throws his head back, that laugh turning into a sick cough. “I knew there may be a chance I’d fail. How could I not assume that the betraying prince might pull more traitorous tricks? So, I devised my greatest experiment yet.”
Kel grabs him up by his robes. “Enough riddles.”
“If my army fell,” Perth smiles emptily, “I wanted to make sure you and your precious mate fell with me.”
I straighten, pulling Rosalina tighter. The air seems to thicken, like a great weight pressing down upon us. The hairs on the nape of my neck stand on end.