Page 4 of Forged By Malice (Beasts of the Briar #3)

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Keldarion

N ow, this is the last place I expected to find you. I take a deep breath. The air in the Queen’s Sanctum is stale and musty. The small chapel lies at the very back of Castletree and has been entirely unused since the four of us took reign here.

And yet, something took me down these forgotten halls during my search for Ezryn.

Sure enough, he kneels beneath the Shrine of the Queen, a stone statue of a faceless woman, one hand extended to the sky, the other to the earth.

It used to be common practice to spend quiet moments of meditation in the Sanctum, to offer gratitude for the joys in one’s life or to shed one’s worries into the void. Though the Queen created the Vale, she also abandoned it five hundred years ago. My thanks and concerns are no better heard by the Queen than they are by that slab of stone carved in her memory.

It’s a simple room, the Sanctum, small and almost cramped compared to the other sprawling chambers of Castletree. The walls and floor are made of wood, the ceiling lush with branches filled with green leaves and hanging ivy. It would be considered beautiful if it weren’t for the briars and bits of rubble.

Four giant stained-glass windows let in a stream of multicolor light. The rain has finally passed.

I kneel beside Ezryn, bowing my head before the statue.

Ezryn quirks his helm toward me. “You don’t have to join me. I know how you feel about the Queen.”

“I haven’t seen you in here in decades. Maybe you’ve remembered something I’ve forgotten.”

“Unfortunately, no.” Ezryn sits on his heels. The light from the stained glass paints his armor in red, blue, yellow, green, and purple. I find myself drawn to the swirling colors. It’s not often I get to see Ezryn bathed in light. “The Queen is as silent as ever,” he continues.

“And why is it now that you’ve come for her wisdom after all these years?” I raise a brow.

Ezryn stands and turns away from me. “I am leaving for Spring tomorrow.”

I knew this decision was coming. Ezryn hasn’t had word from his father, Prince Thalionor, the steward, in months. Neither Thalionor nor Ezryn’s brother attended Princess Niamh’s funeral.

Yet, still, I see how it weighs on him. I understand.

For men like us, looking into the past is a far harder thing than running blindly into the future.

I stand and place my hand on his shoulder. Blue light plays across my knuckles. “I understand. Wish your father well for me. I would travel with you if I did not need to return to Winter.”

Ezryn looks over his shoulder, catching me in the dark gaze of his visor. “How long will you be gone?”

“We funneled a great amount of magic into Castletree. It should remain strong for several weeks, at least. That should be enough time—”

“Keldarion,” Ezryn growls, “how long will you be gone?”

I drop my hand. Damn this fae. My inner thoughts could very well be an unraveled scroll for him. I can’t meet his gaze, so I stare at the Queen’s stone face instead. “I’ve given Eirik Vargsaxa temporary leadership in the interim while I secure a permanent solution. After Perth’s betrayal, I know I must leave Frostfang’s rule in the hands of someone completely trustworthy.”

“Perhaps a steward is no longer needed,” Ezryn offers quietly. “If you were to break your curse—”

“That is not an option.” The mere thought of it sends the blood rushing through my veins.

Since the moment that fated woman entered Castletree, the Enchantress’s magic has been more than a curse. It has been a torment, an endless suffering where my every breath is a battle between agony and the few weak moments where I give in to her.

Rosalina.

The fae disguised within a human’s body. My vision of the stone statue blurs. I understand why our fates are so. But hers?

I had thought her mating with Farron would ease some of the guilt in my chest. But instead, it’s only worsened my suffering. How easy, how simple, it is for him to take her in his arms, to breathe in her scent, to promise her he will stay by her side.

And how hard it is for me to fight back every instinct.

To complicate the matter, the princeling is now the mate of my mate. I’ve always held a deep affection for Farron, but now he is another heart I must protect at all costs.

The tangled web my bargain put me in will ensnare them, too.

Unless I do something.

“So, you are returning to Frostfang, then?” Ezryn asks.

“No. I will be traveling across the Anelkrol Badlands—”

“Kel—”

“Until I arrive at the Great Chasm. I have business at Voidseal Bridge.”

Ezryn spins me around, forcing me to stare into his helm. “What business could you possibly have there? That place is a pit of despair.”

“And the Deep Guard are the only ones holding that despair back from the rest of Winter,” I growl. “It’s home to my last living blood relative.”

Ez snorts. “You haven’t seen Irahn in years. Quellos was more of an uncle to you than Irahn ever has been.”

“Quellos was a traitor. He put his own ambitions above the law, above the good of the people. Irahn may be … eccentric, but he loved my mother, and he’s dedicated his life to the defense of the realm.”

“So, that’s your plan. To make Irahn the new steward?” Ezryn tilts his helm.

“For now, at least.”

I can tell Ezryn’s evaluating my decision by the length of time it takes him to react. Not that it’s unusual. Ezryn hasn’t agreed with one of my decisions since we’ve met.

It’s a wonder he’s followed me for most of them.

Finally, he speaks, his voice low and reverberating. “It’s not a decision to take lightly, Kel. Your uncle’s kept the Great Chasm protected for the last two decades. That’s why you named Quellos steward in the first place. Besides, Irahn hasn’t been part of civilized society in years.”

I wave an idle hand. “Winter has been sick with Quellos’s politics for too long. Irahn could be the ruler Winter needs.”

“ You are the ruler Winter needs.”

I walk toward the door, stepping into a beam of red light. It drips over my hair, my skin, drenching me in glowing blood. “I am Winter’s bane.”

Ezryn exhales heavily. “If you name Irahn steward, then what of the Voidseal? You would leave the Deep Guard without a warden.”

“No, I wouldn’t,” I say lowly. My hands squeeze into fists. “If all goes as intended integrating Irahn as the new steward, I shall remain at the Voidseal as Warden.”

A heavy silence fills the room. I want him to yell. Want him to attack me.

But I knew this was the most likely outcome: the quiet.

“You can’t be saying what I think you’re saying, Kel,” he whispers.

I take a breath, then, “I am. Irahn is my blood. If he accepts the role of steward and proves himself a worthy leader, I will pass the Blessing of Winter on to him and give up my rule as High Prince.”

A crack of lightning sounds outside, and the clouds roll in again.

“I can’t believe this,” he says, his whisper turning to a snarl. “The Sword of the Protector belongs to you . Your father chose you, not Irahn, to inherit his Blessing. You are meant to bring peace to Winter!”

“I am not meant for anything,” I say. “At least in Irahn’s possession, the Blessing would not be hindered by this curse.”

“A curse you need not bear!” Ezryn storms toward me and shoves my chest. Ah, yes, here it is. That anger. This I can manage.

But Ezryn doesn’t push me again. Instead, he grabs my face, his gloved hands rough against my jaw. “Let me help you, Kel. Let me bring Caspian to justice. I will see him to a quick end, and this bargain would be broken forever. I will go to the Below for you, and he would not feel pain. I can free you and Winter and Rosalina—”

I clasp Ezryn’s wrists and remove them from my face. “I can’t let you do that.”

“Bah!” He shoves past me, then slams a fist against the doorframe. “You know once you pass the Blessing on, it will be gone from you forever. It cannot be returned without great danger to your life.”

“I understand.”

“So, that’s it then. You’ll leave Castletree. Leave Rosalina. Leave us .” Ezryn’s body collapses against the frame. “All to protect the traitor.”

I close my eyes, fighting back the emotion that threatens to consume me. It’s not anger. And for once, not even guilt.

There’s just a sadness that there is no other way to protect those I love.

So, I go to him. I clutch Ezryn around the shoulders and he falls back against me, his breath heavy and uneven. “This is what we do, Ez. For each other. For her. Let it be known, no matter how many times we stumble upon this treacherous path, our resolve shall forever remain unbroken. Each time we fall, we rise again. Do you hear me, brother?”

“Yes,” he whispers. “We will rise.”

I hold him tighter against me. “Now, go to Spring. Reestablish the true rule. Find your mate and break your curse. And claim the glorious destiny that awaits you.”