I force myself to my feet. “Brother, don’t do this. Our magic is not used to being merged. It will be too much—”
“I’m not you,” Kairyn says. “I will not bow to the magic as you did.”
“Then kill me,” I urge. “It will pass naturally. It is safer—”
Kairyn turns. “I already told you. I cannot do that. So, you will pass the Blessing to me. Now. Either I will get this power, or it will claim us both.”
All hope drains from my body. I turn to Kel. “Take her away.”
Kel’s eyes blaze with ice. Rosalina is still clutched in his arms. “Ez, don’t do this!”
“You can’t trust him!” Dayton cries, slamming his fist on the wooden dais.
But there’s nothing left.
I have received my sentence.
I have lost my honor.
I am not fit to be High Prince. By all rights, it must go to Kairyn.
A guard releases my bonds and I lay my hands on Kairyn’s chest. “Protect our realm.”
Kairyn only nods.
I have never been taught how to pass the incredible power of Spring on to another person, but there is an ancient knowledge that lurks within the magic. The Blessing itself seems to protest, clawing at the inside of my chest. But I force it outward. It doesn’t belong to me anymore, shouldn’t belong to me.
It needs to go to someone who can protect Spring.
My brother, for all his faults, will see this done. He has already safeguarded the mountain villages and proved himself a valuable leader to the acolytes. While the other High Princes may disapprove, they will offer their guidance. I pray my brother can fulfill the role of a great ruler for Spring that I was never able to embody.
The sheer weight of the magic swells within me, a torrent of raw power coursing through my veins. The air crackles with energy. A connection forges between us, our magic linking like chainmail. As I release the first surge of magic into Kairyn, a searing agony rips through my core. It is as if my very soul is being torn asunder.
I am unraveling, my essence being broken link by link and instead being attached to my brother’s being.
The magic is a maelstrom, an uncontrollable force that threatens to consume me entirely. I cry out and my vision blurs. The world around me fades as I pour everything I am into him.
My brother’s form begins to glow with an ethereal light. I am diminished. The wellspring of my own magic is empty, and I am hollow.
My vision comes back in specks of light. I’m on all fours, breath heavy. Sweat drips out of the bottom of my helm. When I look up, I see Kairyn, radiating like the sun itself.
“I have been reborn,” he calls out. Two green vines crack through the dais, seizing my wrists to my side. Kairyn laughs.
I feel nothing. I know there should be sorrow. Regret. Despair. But I am nothing.
Though two things still linger quietly, hiding beneath my heart. A whimpering beast…
And her.
“It is done,” Kairyn snarls. “I am the new High Prince of Spring.”
Heavy feet thud beside me. Kel lays a hand on my shoulder. I shrink away from his touch. “You’ve gotten what you want, Kairyn. Let us take Ezryn now and leave you with your realm.”
“Address me with my proper respects, High Prince Keldarion.”
Kel takes a shaky breath. “High Prince Kairyn, we will remove Ezryn from your care now.”
“A thoughtful idea, but one I cannot allow. For my brother’s punishment is not yet complete.” Kairyn pulls my head up by my helm. “My brother is hereby banished from the Spring Realm, never to return.”
The crowd cries out. An aching emptiness shoots through my body. Banished … from my home.
“He will see himself through the gates of Florendel to the outskirts of the city,” Kairyn continues. He turns to Kel. “When he arrives there, you may do with him as you wish. I would recommend not taking him back to Castletree. I am part of that domain now, and everything within the Spring Wing—from its treasures to the staff—belongs to me.”
Now, Dayton and Farron are on my other side. “Enough of your spectacle. We will see him out the gates,” Dayton growls.
“That is not how things are done in Spring,” Kairyn hisses. “Remove yourself from this dais before you dishonor your so-called brother anymore.”
None of them move.
“Go,” I whisper. Still, they do not move. “GO!”
Kel goes first, his eyes filled with pain as he looks back at me. Dayton and Farron follow.
I dare not look at Rosalina.