Whatever the reason, may it be a blessing or curse, I’m taking my princes home.
Sira’s gaze widens, and for a moment, the deadly Queen of the Below looks surprised. “It can’t be.”
“You wouldn’t be the first person to underestimate me,” I snarl.
My briars tangle around Dayton, then Farron, then Ezryn, then Kel, tugging hard enough to break Caspian’s shadow binds with a puff of smoke. Whether it’s because he’s surprised or my power is that strong, I’m not sure.
The last thing I see before the briars consume us is Sira. Sira, with fury raging around her like a storm cloud. But it’s not at me, or the princes of Castletree.
She grasps Caspian by his shirt. “You lied to me. How? How is she—”
And so, I make a decision. I curl the vines around him and pull. Then he’s in front of me, and it’s just us. Me and him in a world only the two of us understand. A place surrounded by swirling thorns and cosmic stars.
“Princess,” he says, cupping my face, “I don’t belong in your world.”
“Why would you want to be down there with her?” I shout.
“She’s my mother.”
“She lied, didn’t she? You struck that bargain with Kel without any knowledge of me, didn’t you? You made it because you loved him.”
An unreadable expression passes over his face. “No one knows the truth of that but me. But the Fates did show me you, Flower, all those years ago. I saw him leaning over you, saying the same vows of love he had once said to me.”
I shake my head. “You’re wrong about Kel. He did love you. Maybe a part of him still does. I can feel it. Otherwise, the bargain would be broken, wouldn’t it?”
“Trust me. It’s not Kel keeping this bargain alive,” Caspian whispers. “You’re clouded because he’s your mate. He’s never told you he loves you, has he? Maybe the Fates were wrong after all.”
“It’s like you’re trying to make me hate you.”
“Well, you should hate me,” he snarls back. “And you certainly shouldn’t trust me.”
“I don’t trust you.” The briars have slowed around us, suspending us in this little world. “But I can’t leave you either.”
“Well, you’ll have to.”
But the briars aren’t pulling him away. They’re tugging us toward each other. Relief and fear soar through my chest as I’m wrapped up against him.
Is it my lips crashing against his, or his against mine? But his hands are in my hair, and I’m gasping in all the air he’s willing to give me. This is wrong. Every logical thought is telling me this is wrong. Then why can’t I let go?
Why can’t I leave him behind? He’s saved my life, again and again and again. And I can’t let him go.
The briars draw us closer, cocooning us. Our kiss deepens. His hands are over my body, drawing my thigh up around his waist.
“Rosalina.” He chokes out my actual name. Is this the first time he’s ever said it to me? I’m not sure. “You certainly are a lot of trouble, aren’t you?”
I swallow, head spinning. I’m not sure I would even know my name if he hadn’t just said it. “Not as much trouble as you.” A thought drifts through my starlit mind. “Cas, do you have my necklace?”
He tilts his head. “Yes. But they’ll only take it from you again. You don’t need it.” He places a hand over my heart. “You have everything you need right here.”
“But—”
“I’ll keep it safe. I’ll keep you safe.” I think I catch a smile on his face between the speckles of light. Then he’s kissing me again.
And I believe him.
Maybe here in this moment, in this space that doesn’t really exist, it’s okay to give in to the shadows. To submit to pure feeling and sensation and need. His fiery, desperate lips caress my neck. All sense of control is lost from both of us as I thread my fingers through his hair and writhe my body against his.
He kisses me again, softer this time. A kiss I know means the end.
He cups my face. “Goodbye, Princess. I think it’ll be a little while before I see you again.”
“Wait,” I gasp, catching the edge of his shirt. “I have so many questions.”
“And I have so many answers.” His voice fades away as the briars swallow him up. I have the tumbling sensation of falling, falling, falling. I break through the vines, gasping for air, the foggy vision of Castletree’s entrance hall swirling around me.