Page 101 of Forged By Malice (Beasts of the Briar #3)

100

Rosalina

W e’re rounding a rocky bend along the mountain when I see him and immediately take off into a run. “Kel!”

His pace increases, jog turning into a sprint, white hair blowing. Further down the mountain, I observe the distinct shapes of Astrid, Marigold, and Eldy. They came looking for me.

Tears well in my eyes, and suddenly Kel is before me. Damn, he’s fast.

“Rosalina.” He gathers me in his arms and lifts me.

I bury my face into his neck. “I’m so glad you’re all right.”

There’s a presence behind me, and Kel places me down. “Ez.”

Ezryn stands perfectly still, and Kel’s gaze is intense. I realize this is the first time Keldarion has had a true moment to look at his best friend’s face. Really look at him.

He steps close, placing a hand on Ezryn’s cheek, and though Ezryn stiffens beneath his touch, he does not push him away.

“Ezryn,” I say lightly, “the staff are coming. Do you wish to cover your face?”

Ezryn withdraws, brows lowering. “The creed means nothing to me now.”

The words are final, and they leave a hollow place in me. “Dayton and Farron?” I ask Kel.

“That acolyte woman that’s always milling about came and set Dayton and I free. The two of them are searching the city for Farron. He’s alive, but under hypnosis from the flowers.”

Wrenley, then. She really does care about Dayton. I chew my bottom lip. “Yes, the Nightingale explained all of her flowers. I see you’ve found the white ones.” Tucked behind Kel’s ear are a few white petals. I gesture to the small cloth bag around my shoulders. “We gathered some from the top of the monastery, just in case.”

“Good,” Keldarion says. “We’re to meet them in the field of flowers outside Florendel. From there, we’ll take the road to Summer, seeing as our tokens are missing.”

I place my hand on my neck. “I have Dayton’s.”

Kel nods. “That will help.”

If only I could summon my own thorns, but that power seems beyond my reach. I’ve done it three times before: in the Below, fighting Lucas, and saving Dayton, but I can’t seem to find the key to keeping it.

“Did you see my father?” Ezryn asks.

His voice is so raspy and brittle, like he barely remembers how to speak. Like he only knows how to exist in the moments of pure adrenaline: in battle or fucking me on a blood-covered floor.

We need to get somewhere safe, I think, then he can rest. Then he can recover.

“He’s in the Hall of Vernalion,” Keldarion answers. “Ezryn, he does not look well.”

“I can’t abandon him to my brother.”

“Then we don’t leave Spring without him,” I say.

“It’ll be dangerous to go into a city full of goblins and infiltrate the keep,” Keldarion raises a dark brow.

I put my hands on my hips. “You already know I’m not going to be left behind.”

His rough hand cups my face, gliding along my ears. “That I do, Rose.”

“M’lady!” a high voice calls from below, and I see Astrid, Marigold, and Eldy making their way up the hill.

I rush to meet them, embracing in a tangle of hugs. “I’m so glad to see you all!”

“I was able to send your letter before the trial,” Astrid says. “Autumn will take good care of your father. I know it.”

I give a sigh of relief. If I can’t be with Papa right now, then there’s no one better to look after him than Farron’s family. “Thank you.”

Eldy turns his attention to Ezryn. “Sire, I serve you completely. Creedbreaker or not, an infestation has taken over Florendel. I will not rest until you have reclaimed your rightful place.”

Ezryn’s fists tighten at his side. “I’m not a prince,” he growls. “And I’m in no need of servants.”

Eldy puts a hand on Ezryn’s shoulder. “Then what about a friend?”

Ezryn walks away.

Keldarion grabs my arm and pulls me close, gaze fixed on Ezryn. “He’s not right. What happened up there?”

“Something broke in him when he found out Kairyn was working for the Below,” I whisper back. “He thought he was doing what was best for the realm, and it would offer him the redemption he’s always needed. To find out it all meant nothing …”

“Ezryn has been holding in his emotions for years. Something has broken loose.”

I hold tight to my mate’s arm. “Kel, he tore apart the monastery to get to me. What if that part of him breaks again?”

“Then I’ll stop him.” Keldarion tugs me closer and kisses the top of my head. “We’ll put him back together, Rose. It’s our job to take care of Ez now.” I let out a breath and step toward Eldy, taking the bow off my back. “Ezryn may reject his princedom, but I am a princess.” A new confidence rises in my voice. “And I would be glad to have you in my service, Eldor of the Spring Realm.”

“That bow…” Keldarion whispers.

“I believe,” I say, running my fingers along the golden grip, light shimmering beneath my touch, “that my mother was the Queen.”

“Your Majesty!” Eldy drops to his knees, gray hair failing.

Astrid and Marigold stare at me with matching wide eyes, then sink to the ground.

Keldarion looks between Ezryn and me, a smile on his face. “Princess.”

“Did you know?” I ask breathlessly.

He shakes his head. “No, though I’m not surprised. You’ve always been the strongest of us all.”

“I wish there was a way I could get you all safely to Castletree,” I tell Astrid, Marigold, and Eldy. “There’s no way to know what will happen to us when we venture into Florendel. If something goes wrong, someone will need to warn the rest of the staff about what happened in Spring, and that Kairyn could show up at anytime.”

“Well, there is one thing I could try,” Eldy says. He closes his eyes, concentration turning inward. A spark of magic surges in the air, and suddenly, the man is replaced by a small wren.

“You can still do it?” I gasp.

“Yes, mistress,” the little bird peeps.

“Castletree is not far, as the crow flies,” Keldarion says. “He could make it before nightfall.”

I turn to Astrid and Marigold. “It will be safer there than here. There’s no one better to lead the staff than you two. Will you join him?”

Astrid grasps both my hands. “From the moment Prince Ezryn put me in your service, Princess Rosalina, I have known there is something special about you. You showed me kindness even when you had no reason to. You have fought bravely for us. Beyond it all, you have become my friend. I trust you.”

“Might as well try, girlie.” Marigold smirks. “I won’t have that birdbrain flying across the Briar with no one to watch his tail feathers.”

I close my eyes, concentrating on the feel of Astrid’s hands in mine. When I turned Eldy into a bird, it had been instinctual, a last-ditch effort at survival. But this is slower, more focused.

Magic rises in me like a tide, prickling along my skin. I let it fill me until there is no more room, then I open a stream from my fingers to Astrid, letting it flow from me to her.

Something shocks me, and I grip her hands tighter, like the bite of a snake.

There is already magic in her.

Powerful magic.

But it’s magic I know to my bone. Like being taught a brand-new language in a single second. This is my mother’s curse woven into her very being.

I understand it would be unwise to try to break it this way. Instead, I let my own magic pass through the cracks, settle in the empty spaces. Not a lot, just enough for one transformation of her own.

And once I find the spaces, it’s surprisingly easy. I see the shape of my mother’s magic, the artifacts of change.

This is just adding one more layer.

Sweat pools on my brow and upper lip. Almost there … I push one last flood of power into Astrid and feel a bright sparkle. Light flashes beyond my closed lids.

With a gasp, I open my eyes to see a pale white bird fluttering before me.

“You did it!” Astrid chirps happily.

My face lights up with a smile as I swiftly turn to Marigold. A strange sense of sadness fills me as I feel her curse still inside. A torment that could be no more if we had broken Ezryn’s curse.

Marigold’s change happens quicker, and soon she becomes a larger wren, flapping golden wings beside the other two.

“When you get to Castletree, instruct the staff to start fortifications,” I say. “Harvest whatever food you can from the gardens, board the windows, and begin sorting the weapons.”

“Of course, Princess,” Astrid says. “But why?”

Keldarion places an arm around my waist. “Rosalina is right. What Kairyn began cannot go unanswered. War is coming to the Enchanted Vale.”