I can’t blame Tilla for holding a grudge. Kairyn did take over our city, imprison her and all the other refugees fleeing Florendel, and force her to fight in his twisted games.
After Keldarion called down the stars and stopped the volcanic eruption from destroying all of Winter, it was long days before I left Frostfang. During that time, I deliberated what to do with Kairyn. Leave him to rot in Keep Wolfhelm’s prison? Even I cannot say his acts are not deserving of such a sentence.
But Spring’s past has been filled with blood and pain and vengeance in the name of justice. If I don’t end it, then who?
So we began letting him have supervised time out of his cell. He ended up following either me or Marigold around like a lost duckling. It was George who took him under his wing, asking him to assist in the lab. “He’s knowledgeable on these ancient metals and as skilled a blacksmith as I could ask for,” George told me. “Besides, I hear he means a lot to my daughter. So he means a lot to me.”
George’s youngest daughter. The one who consumes Kairyn’s thoughts every time we sneak out of the forge to get some fresh air and he hears a bird call.
His mate, Wrenley.
I turn to look at my brother. Since being turned into an underfae, he has not donned a helm, nor does he wear any armor. Now, he wears only ragged trousers and a skintight, white undershirt streaked with oil and dirt. He must have been assisting George at the hearth.
When it was decided that George and I would travel to Florendel to complete the forging of the rose, it was he who suggested Kairyn accompany us. “I need an assistant. And he needs a friend.”
The O’Connells and their relentless compassion.
George, as he tends to be, was right about Kairyn’s skills. With his years of research at Queen’s Reach Monastery and a near obsession with the ancient world, Kairyn has an array of knowledge about mythkarite, an ore that comes from the Above, responsible for the creation of the divine weapons. It is like magic turned stone. When Kel created the star shower, he called down an entire boulder laced with the stuff. We extracted the rare ore and brought it here, but even the fires of Draconhold were not hot enough to melt the raw mythkarite.
I suppose we should thank Faustrius, the zealot leading the underfae. If he hadn’t poisoned Mount Rhuvenmark with fire from the hearth of the Above, the volcano would never have erupted. And the lava would never have landed on the boulder, creating a perfect pool of liquid mythkarite. Not a lot, but just enough for us to repair the rose.
Thoughts of Faustrius and his underfae have me peering out the door into the smithy. George sits at a workbench, hunched over, sweat dripping down his brow as he works. The steelcontainer of mythkarite and the shards of the rose lie before him. It’s almost complete now.
I breathe a sigh of relief, seeing him at ease in his work. Given the attempt on his life, I’m nervous to let him out of my sight.
Tilla lets loose an angry exhale, the reverberation of the helm making her sound like an angry bull. I turn back to her, refocusing my attention. Right. She’d come tonight to tell me of an engine issue with one of the ships in the air fleet. Spring has requisitioned the ships once used by the Green Rule.
“Look, Tilla, I don’t know what else to tell you. Kairyn’s the one who oversaw the creation of all the airships. He could help?—”
“I willneveraccept help from that traitor,” she snarls, then faces Kairyn. I can practically see lightning bolts surging out of her glare into his back. “You’ve always been a shit, and you’ll always be a shit.”
“Be fair,” he sighs and rolls over to peer at her through his dark lashes. “The last few years, sure, but I wasn’talwaysa shit.”
I lift my helm slightly so I can knead the bridge of my nose, hoping to stave off a headache, and wonder if it’s too late to switch places with Dayton. I’d much rather be in Hadria, working with Delphie and Nori. Wrangling two teenage girls would be far preferable tothis.
Tilla groans and hooks her morning star back to her belt. “Look, Ez, I don’t even want to be dealing with this. I told you I’d be your steward until you found a new high ruler. Well, you’ve got a helm and a blessing and a whole realm in need of some hope. Instead, you’re hiding away in here. You’ve got to deal with this!”
I lay a hand against the doorframe and stare out at the halls of Draconhold. I never imagined coming back to my beautiful city like a rat, sneaking around at night, stealing bits of food, andhiding from the light of day. But then again, I never imagined coming back to Florendel at all.
I was banished. How can I face my people after letting them down so completely?
My gaze shifts to Kairyn, twirling his half-eaten mango in his hands. And if I cannot fathom standing before my citizens, how could Kairyn? He who betrayed them and everything Spring stands for?
Tilla puts a hand on my shoulder, urging me to look at her. Her voice softens. “Ezryn, I served your mother loyally. And when she made you high prince, I truly believed we could be in no better hands. Istillbelieve that. You and Kel and Dayton and Fare may be idiots, but you’re good idiots.” I hear a kind smile in her voice. “But you’re living my dream right now. Working with magic ore to craft an ancient weapon? That’s my passion! Instead, I’m livingyourdream. Rallying the people of Spring under a common cause. One of the main reasons I never wanted to marry Kel was because I didn’t want the life of a royal. Now you’re forcing me into it.”
“You’re right,” I murmur. “It’s not fair. I’m sorry.”
“Spring needs you, Ezryn.”
“I’ll think about it?—”
Tilla slugs my armhard, and I regret not wearing my full suit of armor. “Well, think fast, because I’m tired and I miss my forge. And I need my damn ship fixed.”
I rub my bicep, already seeing a bruise. “Okay, okay. Kairyn will meet you in the dockyard tomorrow night?—”
“I’m not meeting him alone,” she cries, then crosses her arms. “He’s likely to strangle me with that weird tail of his.”
We both turn to Kairyn, who’s sitting up. He gives an intentionally creepy grin and flicks his tail.
