Even from afar, her order to her creations still stands. They’re under Sira’s control.
The air fills with howls and beating wings and the sickly scent of rot.
They’re coming from all sides.
“We’ll protect you!” Dayton roars, summoning his trident in a flash of ocean-blue steel. He charges forward, meeting the first wave of goblins head-on with a wild grin.
“We need to save the staff!” I cry. “What if I can’t—what if I’m not enough?”
“Youare!” Mom says. Even as a human, her voice rings with command.
“I’ll evacuate the staff,” Farron says, and he’s already gone, vanishing down one of the curved wooden passages.
“We’ll buy you time, Rose.” Keldarion crafts a blade of ice, shimmers into his armor, and runs straight into the fray beside Dayton, his sword carving arcs of frost through the air.
Ezryn steps between me and the chaos, his cloak billowing, hammer glowing in his hand. “No one touches you,” he says, calm and deadly.
Caspian falls to his knees, weak but upright, trembling with effort. Justus and George press close to him and Mom, guarding us all.
Alright, my turn.
I stare at Castletree. The walls crack. The great boughs groan overhead.
It’s all falling apart. But it’s not gone. Not yet.
I sink to my knees and press a hand to the bark coating the ground, reaching for its essence beneath the crumbling stone and thorns.
It pulses. Weakly.
Alive. Calling out for help.
I feel you.
I’ve always had a connection to Castletree.
And I’ll be damned if I let it fall.
79
Keldarion
So the fight has come to Castletree. As we always knew itwould.
I fight, as there is nothing else to do. To my left, Dayton moves like a dancer, teal armor glowing, trident loose in his hand, each swipe creating a wall of water that sends goblins scattering to the floor. I’ve created two long swords of ice and freeze a dozen that pile through the door, causing another group to trip and fall over.
A shriek sounds overhead, and a flock of harpies soars through the roof. I toss one of my swords in the air, and it explodes around them in a shower of ice, piercing their bodies.
“Kel!” Dayton cries.
Another wave pushes through Castletree’s entrance. They don’t stop coming.
Summoning a second blade, I dash beside him. We stand back-to-back, Dayton concentrating on the opening, me on finishing the stragglers that make it through.
Mostly goblins form this assault. Sira’s outfitted them in crude armor and jagged swords. Their eyes are pure black, revealing they’re all thralls to the rose.
The rose we never had.
Behind us, Justus and Ezryn have created a perimeter around Rosalina, Aurelia, George, and Cas. No goblin can break it.
