Now it’s my turn to bristle. “Well, well, well, the little bird has flown the coop. I don’t think you’ve received the order for that yet.”
“I’m taking initiative. Unlike you.” She glowers up at me.
The black cape sweeps over the floor as Kairyn paces back and forth. “When I aligned with you years ago, it was for the good of my realm. For my people.”
Birdy throws her head back and laughs, harsh and biting. “Is that what you’re still telling yourself, love?” She swishes her short hair and drifts over to Kairyn, hips sashaying back and forth. Her fingers walk up his metal chest, and my eyes nearly roll to the back of my skull. “You aligned with me because you want that throne as much as I want to put you on it.”
Kairyn’s dark gaze burrows into hers, and I know she has him. She continues, “Ezryn left the realm to ruin. Remember what I showed you when we ventured into the Briar? He’s a beast, Kai. A monster. But you knew that already, didn’t you?” Her hand caresses his helmet. “Your brother is a murderer.”
By gods, she is good. I mean, not that Kairyn is the most difficult of subjects—all fight, no facts, just like his brother—but she could talk him into laying down his helm, and he’d thank her for it.
“He is a murderer…” Kairyn repeats.
“It is your destiny to sit atop the Spring throne,” Birdy says slowly. “We called upon the Fates, you and I, and asked them what they saw. They showed you your silver path. You will sit upon the throne of Spring and wield its Blessing. Only then can you usher in a new era of prosperity.”
It’s like a performance, and Quellos and I are mesmerized, watching as she completely wraps the prince around her finger like a piece of twine. It’s equally fascinating and pathetic.
But the dog still has some bite. “The Fates never showed me my brother’s death,” Kairyn growls. “I can still gain the Blessing my way. I just need more time.”
“You are afraid of your true potential,” she says. “Of the life you deserve. Until you free yourself of this loyalty to the brother that banished you, you will always be his servant.”
Kairyn stays silent, fists curling and uncurling. “I’m not his servant. He will see my worth.”
The Nightingale grabs Kairyn’s hand and places it over her heart. “Listen to me, Kai. I found you in the monastery when you were all but hopeless. I gave you purpose. I helped you retake the Golden Acolytes and save the people of Spring. And what has Ezryn done? He betrayed you. He doesn’t believe in you. Not like me.”
I cross my arms. From the quiver in her voice, you’d almost think she actually cared for this fool of Spring. Except I know better. Birdy can’t care for anyone; Sira beat that out of her.
Kairyn turns away. “I won’t kill him.”
Birdy fixes him with a scathing look. “Is loyalty such a foreign concept that you can’t even recognize it when it’s right in front of you? Tell me, Kairyn where does your loyalty truly lie?”
“You’re wasting your breath, Birdy,” I say and cast a smirk Kairyn’s way. “It’s hard to get approval from someone who’s dead.”
“I don’t need his approval,” Kairyn snarls.
I can’t help taunting him—it’s just too easy. “Is that what you tell yourself? I happen to remember you as a little bothersome boy, always chasing after Ezryn as he chose Keldarion again and again and again. One might think he views Kel as more of a brother than you.”
Kairyn steps forward, fist winding back as if he intends to take my head off with a single swing. Birdy puts a hand on his chest then glowers at me. “You’ll keep quiet if you know what’s good for you,” she warns.
Ah, but I love all the things that aren’t good for me. “You know all about being desperate for approval, don’t you, Birdy? I suppose that’s why you two are such a good team.”
Her glare is so cold, it could freeze the Summer Realm. “I won’t kill Ezryn,” Kairyn growls. “But I will break him. He will finally realize I am the worthy brother. I promise you I will have the Blessing of Spring.”
“And how do you intend to break the High Prince?” she snarls.
Kairyn’s voice grows so low and haunted, a shiver runs up my spine. “The Golden Rose. I saw the way he acts around her.” He raises a fist. “Her death will destroy him.”
The expression on my face remains the same: the smirk, the one raised brow. But inside, my blood rages and my mind whirrs.