Could she have stolen it?
Regardless, something warns me away from the truth—or what I know of it. “She found it in the human realm.”
Kairyn’s owl helm twitches ever so slightly, and I know he doesn’t believe me. He presses on. “It appears to be very old. I should like to examine it at the monastery. We have many precious artifacts. If I could only compare—”
“I’m sorry,” I snap. “But it’s very special to me. I never take it off. Ever.”
Kairyn’s grip tightens on my waist. “Is that so.” It’s not a question.
The music picks up, and Kairyn spins me faster, nearly lifting me off the ground.
“Ezryn looks like he’s having a marvelous time,” I say, despite the fact I can’t see Ez. I want Kairyn to remember he’s around.
“My brother’s always been good at appearing the perfect prince. He was trained and taught from birth to follow in our parents’ footsteps. A silver son.”
My dress swishes as I twirl under Kairyn’s arm. “He’s a powerful leader. Spring is lucky to have him.”
A grinding sound reverberates beneath the helm. “He was taught that he is a powerful leader. But true power cannot be taught; it is something that one is born with. An innate ability to make the sacrifices required. And this is not always visible on the surface.”
I stay silent, watching the dark visor for any clue of the fae beneath. I can’t figure out if he loves Ezryn or hates him. There’s both admiration and resentment in his every word.
Maybe that’s the truth of it; love and hate merged so closely together, he can’t see which is which.
I think of my father. When he was off on his adventures and I was stuck at home, I spent years resenting him. And as soon as he came home, I’d be desperate for any ounce of attention.
But we found our way back to each other. Maybe Ezryn and Kairyn can, too.
“I know Ezryn isn’t really a man of many words, but he appreciates what you’ve done here,” I tell Kairyn. “If you reach out to him, I’m sure—”
Kairyn snorts, an undignified sound for this armored giant. “I have reached out to my brother far too many times, and just when I think I’m breaking through, he leaves me dangling off a precipice.”
I stare into the young prince’s helm, wondering if I’m holding his gaze. I do know what he’s talking about. “Sometimes the closer I get to Ezryn, the more it feels like he pulls away.”
“Exactly,” Kairyn says.
I can’t believe this is what I’m bonding with Kairyn over, but I understand deeply what he means. Just when I feel like there’s a crack in Ezryn’s armor, when I think he might let me in, he pulls away and retreats within himself. I’ve only had to endure this for a few months, whereas Kairyn has lived with it for a lifetime.
“In his eyes, I’ll only ever be a child,” Kairyn murmurs, “unfit to stand at his side.”
“I know it can feel like he’s far away,” I urge, “but he’s changing. When I see him and Kel—”
“Keldarion.” The name is a hiss and a growl all at once. “Ah yes, I’m sure my brother is quick to reconcile with that one. He doesn’t hold any ill-will against traitors. Only his blood.”
I drop my hands and step back. “You’re hurt, and it’s not my place to pry. I’m barely more than a stranger to you. But for what it’s worth: trust him. Trust Ezryn, and he will see through on any promise made.”
“For what it’s worth, Lady O’Connell, let me ask you something. Do you truly know my brother?”
“Yes,” I say without hesitation. “Ezryn is brave and kind, and he’ll do anything for his friends and his realm.”
Kairyn closes the gap between us and runs a finger down my neck, under the thin chain of my necklace. Slowly, he lifts the moonstone rose on a single finger. The gifted golden leaf from Autumn dangles off to the side. I hold my breath, feeling as if he’s wrapped his hands around my heart. “He’s like his armor, shining on the outside, but have you ever seen within?”
“I know his heart, and it is good.”
Kairyn lowers the moonstone rose back to my skin, then turns, looking nothing more than a shadow. “If you are so certain, ask my brother what happened the night he accepted the Blessing. Ask him what happened to my mother.”
45
Farron
“Prince of Thorns, if you can hear me, answer this call.” My fingers tighten around the briars. I watch the thorns slither through the library of Castletree. Can you hear me?