For me.
I look down at the flames flickering along my arms. A birthright, a burden.You decide what to do with the magic you bear.
I take a breath and close my eyes.
Not to smother the fire. Not to cage it.
But to claim it.
I draw it in, deep and burning. It floods through my veins. It screams and thrashes…
But there isn’t only fire in my blood. There is shadow and thorn too.
I bring it all to the surface, weave it together in a way my father never could. The magic of the Below, the magic of the Vale, and the magic of the world beyond, united.
And mine.
Keldarion stumbles away, the pulse of magic too strong even for him.
I scream. Flames and shadows and briars writhe around me like a storm. But if a camel can find her way out of one, then so can I.
You. Are. Mine, I cry to my mind, to my soul, inside and out. And the green fire along my arms begins to bend.
Change.
I gasp, back arching, as the magic inside me flares.
And for the first time in my life, I choose not to fear the part of me that burns.
The Green Flame yields.
My eyes open, glowing green and steady, reflected in Keldarion’s armor.
“Hello, lover,” I purr. And I see for a second that flicker of confusion on his face, that worry of just who he’s talking to. And as much as I long to tease him, there will be forever to do that. “Let’s go save the world. I’m tired of always letting you be the hero.”
59
Caspian
Maybe it was worth the decades of torment, of love mixed sowell with hate I forgot what to call it, just to see the dumbfounded look on the High Prince of Winter’s face.
“You really did it, Cas?” he asks softly.
“As if there’s anything I can’t do.” I give him a wry grin. “Besides, you got that fancy new armor. Couldn’t have you showing me up.”
Keldarion takes my hand and places it over the moonstone rose token on my chest.
Could it be?I straighten my arm, the way I saw the other princes do.Surely it won’t work for me. I’m not like them. I’m not one of them.
But with Kel’s eyes steady on mine, I decide to stop being afraid. I unfurl my palm.
Light shimmers along my body. Armor appears, sleek and formfitting. Glittering pale moonstone reflects the light of Farron’s flames and the green glow of the obelisks. A white cape flows behind my back.
Transfixed by my reflection in Kel’s sapphire armor, I spy a circlet of moonstone roses cresting my brow.
Keldarion smiles at me. So damned beautiful. “Alright, Prince of Roses. Let’s see what you can do.”
A sword of briars forms in my hands, the blade sharp. The hilt blooms with lilac roses.Interesting.
