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.”