Page 106 of Forged By Malice (Beasts of the Briar #3)

105

Rosalina

E verything is happening too fast: the spray of Keldarion’s ice shield as he barely holds the sword and lance at bay, the thorns carving through the ground, Caspian appearing—Caspian! Caspian! Caspian!—and Ezryn’s cry, something born of both rage and sorrow, as the Prince of Thorns drives a sharpened vine through Thalionor’s heart.

Ezryn clutches his father’s lifeless body, mouth agape. Strangled cries escape him as he shakes the old fae. He places his hand over the gaping wound, spewing heart’s blood, but even I can see Thalionor is already gone.

Across the throne room, I notice Kairyn staggering up.

How could you? I gasp in my mind, eyes on Caspian. He wavers. I’ve never seen him like this. So weak. So sick.

Caspian begins to cough. They’re so strong, his whole body wracks. A trail of sludge ejects from his mouth on to the floor. The purple thorns start to wither and die.

I retreat behind Keldarion, heart pounding. The knights haven’t stopped their relentless attack, and Kel is barely holding them off. Caspian is so weak. He just killed Prince Thalionor. And Ez…

Ez drops his father’s body. Stands. Walks a few steps, back stiff, to where his sword lies. Picks it up. Turns to face Caspian.

“You killed my father,” he says lowly. “Now, your death belongs to me.”

Caspian sighs. “I thought that might be the case.”

Stop! I scream in my mind, but neither of them turn to me.

A great shadow engulfs us, bringing the smell of swamp and mulch. Plants slither from the pillars, the ground, the ceiling, and rally to Kairyn. They wrap around his limbs and chest; he grows five feet, then ten as more and more plants form giant legs, lifting him into the air. Moss and vines cover his arms, creating two long whips.

Kairyn lurches his massive, botanical body back and bellows, a sound like felling trees.

“You will all pay!” he cries, then whips one of his large plant arms forward, knocking away the Sapphire and Bronze Knights. Then he wraps Kel and me in his vines, squeezing us so tight, I lose the grip on my bow. It clatters to the ground. We’re flung upward, far above the throne.

With his other arm, he does the same to Ez and Cas, wrapping them together and lifting them high into the air. The musty aroma of decaying vegetation clouds my nose.

“Each one of you has been nothing but a relentless weed since I first met you,” Kairyn growls. “I pluck you out, and yet you keep coming back.”

The vines wrap tighter around us, and I cry out. Kel struggles to break free, but his hands are pinned.

“Especially you .” Kairyn pulls his arm in, bringing Caspian closer. “Do you truly have no loyalty? Not even to your sister?”

Caspian licks his lips, smearing black all over them. “If anyone appreciates a little chaos, it’s my Birdy.”

Kairyn lets loose another enraged howl. “I will get my vengeance!”

My bones creak as the vines tighten. Kel grits his teeth beside me, blue eyes flashing with pain.

Across from us, Caspian and Ezryn are squeezed tighter and tighter. They cry out, fighting against the hold.

It can’t end like this. I won’t meet my end alongside Keldarion when we’ve barely even had a start. I won’t lose Ezryn when he needs me most to find him. Won’t go before I tell Dayton what he means to me, or let Farron know how I’ve healed because of his love.

I look across at Caspian. And I won’t give up on him.

I close my eyes.

“Rose,” Kel grunts. “I’m so sorry. For everything. For hiding the truth. I thought I was protecting you, but instead I only—”

“Kel,” I say seriously. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this apology. And I still intend to hear the whole thing. With you on your knees, preferably. But for right now, shut up .”

Because what I’m looking for isn’t outside, with my mates or my bow.

It’s inside.

It’s who I am, who I’ve always been. The blood that runs through my veins. An eternal love I’ve carried since my birth.

My mother’s magic may have made Castletree, and our home may be fading. But her magic also flows through me.

This time it’s not an eruption of fire. No force or power surging through me. It is a release.

I bloom.

Human daughter of George and Anya O’Connell. Fae daughter of Queen Aurelia—the Enchantress who cursed the High Princes.

I don’t need Caspian’s briars or the Nightingale’s.

It lives in me.

I am the Golden Rose.

My magic blossoms out of me like a wind through a field of flowers. Golden briars crack through the stone, spreading across the throne room. Roses bloom along them, glittering with hope. My thorns shoot toward Kairyn, tearing at his limbs of mulch and moss.

“What is this? Get off of me!” he cries. His control slackens on the vines surrounding us.

My thorns are like an extension of me; they respond to my intentions and do my direct bidding. Thrusting my hand upward, a briar shoots skyward, tearing through the vines that ensnare us. Kel and I tumble to the ground, but he wraps me in his arms, absorbing the brunt of the fall.

He sits up with a shake of his head. “You’re right. My apology can wait.”

I stand and run, my thorns weaving beside me like sea monsters dipping in and out of the waves. With an upward thrust of my hand, my vines rip open the constraints around Ez and Caspian.

But before they tumble to the floor, I ensnare them with my own golden thorns.

“Let me go!” Ezryn screams.

But Caspian only smirks. “Clever girl.”

I shoot a hand out to the side, and my thorns engulf Keldarion. “What are you doing, Rose?” he yells.

Then I slam my palms downward. The vines descend through the earth, taking Kel, Ez, and Caspian with them. My thorns know the path because my heart knows the path.

It will always lead me home to Castletree.

I step backward to see the Sapphire Knight and the Bronze Knight running toward me.

“It’s been fun,” I say, my golden thorns wrapping around my legs. My turn to go home.

I’m fully embraced by brambles. To Castletree , I tell them. I feel the rush as I’m pulled downward—

SLAM!

Pain shoots through me like a crack of lightning. I fall to the hard ground, my thorns withering.

SLAM!

Another burst of pain. I blink my eyes rapidly, trying to make sense. And then I see it.

Kairyn, his massive hammer raised, pounding my roses again and again. His divine weapon glows with light.

With his huge, gloved hands, he plucks one of my roses. It twists in his palm, losing its glimmer. Evolving into an entirely separate plant.

His heavy boots thud over to me. I clutch the stones, trying to pull myself away, but he grabs my shoulder, pushing me on to my back. He hovers over me, his helm like a descending bird of prey.

“I may have lost them, but you’re all that truly matters.” He looks down at the ground, helm lit up with a radiant gleam. “You and this bow.”

Then the new High Prince of Spring shoves his deadly flower under my nose. I inhale the sickly sweet scent. My mind turns to fog. At least Keldarion, Ezryn, and Caspian are safe.