Page 11 of Forged By Malice (Beasts of the Briar #3)

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Dayton

I ’ve woken up in some unusual places with unique company. Like in that rowboat with a mermaid tail wrapped around my legs—I swear she didn’t have fins when we fell asleep. Or on shore, completely naked, head filled with memories of a silky-haired woman, but only seals on the horizon.

But today has to be the absolute fucking worst.

Passed out for an afternoon nap, I’d heard my door open, then felt a shift on my bed. My delirious mind had pictured Rosalina crawling in beside me. Instead, I turned to face a damned goblin.

Now, standing on my bed, surrounded by a pack of five goblins blazing with green flame, my hand burned from trying to punch one, I’d be lying if I said my prospects weren’t a little precarious.

A goblin lunges at me and I rip down the gauzy canopy. It smothers the creature, but then the whole thing goes up like a green bonfire. Fuck.

Summoning Summer’s Blessing, I bring forth a tide of water, knocking the creature back. I just wish my magic didn’t feel so far away. Here at Castletree, my magic should be at its strongest.

One of the goblins breaks off and goes to inspect my swords on the side table.

“You stay away from those, you moss-ridden asshole,” I yell.

It turns to me, hissing, then knocks them off the table like a disgruntled cat before brandishing its own weapon, a glistening silver dagger. There’s something familiar about that steel—

One of them lunges, grazing my calf. Fuck, I’ve got to get out of here. Got to find Rosie.

I strike two of them with a gust of wind and leap through the opening, heading for my blades.

One of them blocks my path. “Not so scary without your swords, are you, Prince of the Arena?”

I manage to escape the swipe of its blade, my fingers grasping my swords, when a sharp pain cuts against my back. The familiar wetness of my own blood drips down my spine. I groan, doubling over.

“Dayton!”

Rosalina stands in my doorway, and I don’t even have time to be frightened for her, because the instant I see her face, I know it’s the goblins who should be afraid.

Her delicate features shift into a snarl, and her hair is a wild tangle. “Don’t touch him!”

The flame goblins all turn to her, chittering, but it dies when the heavy energy of magic crackles in the room. Dies when Rosalina’s eyes transform from brown to pure fucking gold. And for a single moment in that flash of light, dressed in the Summer training garb, she looks like an ancient hero in the Sun Colosseum. My heart all but stops.

Golden briars erupt from the ground, tear through the ceiling, and strike the goblins. They don’t even have a chance to run before they’re pierced by the sharp thorns and ensnared completely.

Rosalina lets out a gasp and drops to her knees. “Remove their heads,” she says. “They’re under similar magic as Perth’s soldiers. They’ll come back to life if we don’t do that.”

She doesn’t have to tell me twice. Quickly, I grab my blades and relieve the goblins of their heads. They turn to ash as I do. When the last one fades away, Rosalina drops to all fours, the briars crashing to the ground with her.

I kneel before her. “You saved me, Blossom.”

The briars remain, and golden roses bloom among the leaves. Just like the ones that destroyed Lucas on the Autumn battlefield. She hasn’t been able to summon that magic since, but here it is today. Here to protect me.

“One of the goblins mentioned they were looking for something,” she pants. “Do you have any idea what it might be?”

“Could they know about the High Tower? Our roses? Maybe they’re trying to destroy them.”

“No, High Tower hasn’t been breached. And they didn’t want anything in the library.” Rosie’s fingers curl into the sand on my floor. Then her eyes widen. “They’re in the Winter Wing. Earlier, you mentioned Kel’s sword was blessed by the Queen herself. Could they be after that?”

“Only one way to find out.” I help her up, and we take off to the main corridor. There, running from the Spring Wing, are Marigold and several other staff.

“The castle is secure,” Marigold says. “The last pack of goblins ran from the Winter Wing and out the front door.”

I exchange a glance with Rosie. “Can you run?”

She nods, seeming to have caught her breath.

“Then let’s go.”

Swords firm in my hand, we sprint out of the castle, immediately hit with a sharp torrent of rain. I blink through the water, finding a cluster of goblins streaking green flames just about to cross the bridge.

“If they make it to the Briar, we’ll lose them for good!” I yell. Our feet splash in the puddles. Shit, we’ll never catch them.

“Keep running!” Rosalina yells. But she stops and draws her strange thorned bow.

Her gift from the Prince of Thorns.

But I obey, hitting the edge of the bridge as the goblins reach the other side. And there, glinting in one of their hands, is something wrapped in old cloth. If I fucking lose Kel’s sword while he’s gone, he’s going to kill me. I pick up my pace.

A thorn arrow sails through the air, but lands wide of the goblins. I glance over my shoulder. “You missed.”

“No, I didn’t,” Rosalina says. Then she swipes her hand overhead. The thorn arrow expands, exploding into a patchwork of briars, blocking off the exit of the bridge.

The goblins careen to a stop, chittering in agitation, trapped.

Trapped with me.

Perfect.

I draw my blades and take the moment of surprise to dispatch two of them. The others panic, slipping on the slick stone. They may be covered in green flame, but they’re not so fucking scary when I’m armed. Going for the head, the last four are goners before Rosalina even catches up with me.

She slows to a stop, wind and rain tousling her hair and soaking her clothes, so they cling to her full curves. Her eyes widen, shifting back to dark brown. She stares at the piles of ash and black goblin blood at my feet.

“We make a pretty good team,” I say.

“That we do.” She smiles, then retrieves the hastily wrapped package from a pile of ash. Carefully, she unfolds the old cloth, revealing the sheath with an icy hilt sticking out.

“Careful,” I say. “Don’t touch that without the sheath.”

“Wouldn’t want to get fingerprints on this prized possession,” she says sarcastically. “Kel might stick me in the dungeon again.”

A lot worse would happen to her than that if she tried to wield the Sword of the Protector. But my mind is still stuck on why the goblins would attempt to steal it. “They really were after Kel’s sword. I wonder what use they could have for it.”

“One of them mentioned a gift for Sister, whatever that means.” She carefully sets the sword down, then walks over to me, running a delicate hand over my bare chest until she reaches my back. “They hurt you.”

“Just a scratch.”

Her expression turns steely. “Do you remember when you told me if anyone touched me, you’d kill them and fuck me in their blood?”

I run my hand through her rain-soaked hair. “What are you implying, Blossom?”

She lets her hand rest on my chest. “They hurt you. Now they’re dead. So—”

I step away from her. “We should get the sword out of the rain.”

Her eyes flash. “Dayton, when I saw you in danger—when I felt you were in danger—every part of me exploded. I don’t think that type of magic just happens. The only other time was when I needed to protect you all. Protect Farron and Kel, my—”

“Don’t go there, Rosie.”

“Why not?” She grips my arm. “Can’t you feel this?”

A growl sounds in my chest, and I yank my arm away. “Do you want to know what I feel, Rosalina O’Connell? What I really feel?”

“And what is that, Prince of the Summer Realm?” Her mouth has shifted into a snarl. I’ve made her mad.

Good. I’d rather her mad than whatever the hell she was trying before. “Relief.”

“Relief?”

“Yes. When I found out you and Farron were mates, all I felt was relief. Relief neither of you belonged to me .”

Her face crumbles. “Day, that night we all spent together …”

“Of course, I want you and Fare, but I also know how fucking awful that would be for both of you.”

She shakes her head. “That’s not true.”

“Everyone I’ve ever loved has met a terrible fate, Rosie. Every single person.” My voice breaks. “I thought for sure I’d take Fare down with me because I can’t give him up. But you saved him from me. ”

“Stop it.” Rosalina grips my arm over the bargain cuff Farron and I share. “There’s nothing terrible about the love you and Farron have for each other. And there’s nothing terrible about what’s between us. I haven’t been brave enough to say it yet, but Dayton, I …”

My entire chest feels like it’s caving in, and I haven’t cried in fucking years. It might be salty tears running down my cheeks, or maybe it’s just rain. “Rosie, stop. I can’t bear it, please.”

But she doesn’t stop. Of course she doesn’t.

“Daytonales, you are my mate.” She snatches my jaw. “Let me fuck you in the blood of the enemies we slayed and prove it.”

I can’t keep her. I can’t own her. But I could give myself this moment. One time with the most perfect woman to ever live. My resolve is weakening, every part of me aching for her. One night with me won’t kill her. She’ll have Fare. She’ll even have Kel.

My death has always been hovering just beyond the horizon. And here it fucking is. Maybe not the death of my body. That’ll carry on. But my soul, my heart—they’re not going to survive losing her.

But I’ve never been one to make the best decisions.

Rosalina stares up at me, eyes flashing like the raging storm.

“Fuck it,” I growl and take her in my arms.