Rosalina
LUCAS LOOKS LIKE A little boy. I stroke a finger along the raised scar on my left wrist. When he’s
asleep, I remember the feeling of being pulled from the ice and falling into his arms. I can almost
pretend he’s innocent.
It’s morning in the Enchanted Vale, and dappled sunlight trickles through the windows into the
healing chamber, dancing across the walls like butterfly wings. Of all the things I’ve wanted to do
since arriving back at Castletree, being with Lucas is the very last. But I needed to make sure he was
still alive, for Farron’s sake.
Lucas is in the bed closest to the window. Ezryn was already here when I arrived, sitting in a chair
nearby. He’s got one hand on Lucas’s chest, one hand on his head. I’ve been standing still for about
ten minutes now, watching the mellow green glow of his magic spread over Lucas’s skin.
Finally, Ezryn leans back. “He’ll remain asleep until he’s recovered. As soon as I’m certain his
body has healed, he’s gone.”
“Thank you.”
Ezryn walks over to the fountain and begins rinsing his hands. I hover awkwardly behind him,
swishing my skirt back and forth. Marigold has dressed me in a soft pink dress that flows over my
hips and cinches at the waist. I feel like a cherry blossom drifting through the wind.
Ezryn’s barely looked at me.
I bite my thumbnail. He’s been quiet this morning, quieter than normal. Last I saw him in his fae
form, he was dressed like a Ski Fun Ken Doll—which I’ve since learned was Marigold’s idea—but
now he’s back in his usual gear. Sunlight glints off the elaborate vines and floral embossment on the
dark gray helmet. He’s not wearing as much armor as usual, instead a tunic in a rich earthy shade with
a thin leather chest piece. His brown trousers are loose and far more comfortable looking than the
metal tassets he normally sports. Maybe it’s the buttery light of dawn amidst the healing chamber, but
for once he looks soft.
“I really appreciate you helping him,” I say, because I can’t stand the silence.
Ezryn walks to the marble counter and picks up a cloth to dry his large, tanned hands. He says
nothing.
“He doesn’t deserve your help. Or mine. But I kind of owe him a life-debt. And now... I feel free.
You know?”
Ezryn nods.
My heart rattles in my chest. I’m used to Ez’s reservedness but there’s something different about
him this morning. With us alone in the healing chamber, I thought we might talk about when I contacted
him through the mirror. But he seems like he’d rather spend time with half-dead Lucas than me.
He turns to another counter and picks up a mortar and pestle, then shakes in some herbs from a jar. I
stand beside him.
“I’m thankful you came. I... was really lost without you guys.” My words sound stupid, all
trembling and jumbled up. But it’s like I’m not even present, and I can’t help feeling like he’s angry
with me.
He drops the pestle with a thud and walks across the room to a basket filled with linens. He begins
tearing them into strips for bandages. I follow right on his heel.
“I’m sure I freaked you out when I randomly appeared. I built this altar of all the things I’d
collected from the Enchanted Vale, and I had some of your clothes that I got from the cache and when I
smelled them—”
He drops the linens. Walks back to the counter and begins mashing the herbs in the mortar with
surprising intensity.
“Well, they smelled just like you. And it’s about spring in Orca Cove and I thought, how am I going
to see the flowers rise and the birds call when I never got a chance to really say thank you for all
you’ve done? Then you came for me. You came for me, Ez, and now I have even more to tell you—”
His hands drop to firm fists. Oh my god, he is mad. He probably hates me for bringing Lucas here.
Or for wanting to come back at all. Maybe he agrees with Kel, and I really am a nuisance.
Ezryn storms off to the side of the room, yanking open a door into a small walk-in pantry. It’s filled
with rows upon rows of jars, each labeled in delicate calligraphy. I wonder if it’s Ezryn’s writing. He
goes to close the door, but I push my way in. The door clicks shut behind me. It’s dark, except for a
single lit lantern on a shelf, causing the room to glow with orange light.
“I’m aware I’ve kind of uprooted your guys’ entire lives, but I really need you to know that when I
saw you there, it was like everything fell back into place.” I gesture wildly as I talk, though the pantry
is so small with the door closed, I keep accidentally smacking Ezryn in the chest. He stumbles,
jangling the shelves. But I can’t stop talking. “Like my upside-down world was shifting and
everything was coming back into focus. And I missed you, Ez. I missed you.”
My throat grows tight. I look up, staring into the dark T-shaped visor of his helmet. “Are you mad at
me?”
A beat of silence passes between us, full and aching.
“Damn the stars,” he growls. Then his left arm flings out, smashing the lantern. I jump at the sound,
the pantry now pitch-black.
“Ez?” I whisper. “I can’t see anything—”
“I know.”
There’s the heavy clunk of metal hitting the marble floor.
And I’m swept up in his arms, his hands lacing behind my back. He pushes me against the wall, and
jars clatter and tinkle off the shelves, but I don’t care. Ezryn emits a purely male sound, and he kisses
me.
Ezryn kisses me.
My heart flutters, and my hands instinctively fall into his hair. Oh my god—it’s so thick, curling at
the nape of his neck. So, he’s got wavy hair. I store this information away like its treasure.
He kisses me harder, his mouth tender soft and crushing all at once. Stubble scratches against my
cheek, and I tear a hand away to caress his jaw. I want to—need to—memorize every piece of him.
That space between us that always felt so vast suddenly feels imaginary, like my body has clicked
right into place against his.
His hand tightens around my waist, and his arousal presses into me. My stomach loops, and giddy
lust makes my core grow hot. More, more, more. My hands can’t get enough, needing to feel the sharp
point of his ears, to scratch down his neck.
He groans into my mouth, capturing my bottom lip and biting lightly before crashing against me
again. My fingers dip down to the edge of his tunic, and I pull upward—
Ezryn straightens. Without his touch, I suddenly feel hollow, carved out. “Ez...” I hear a shuffle
then the ting of metal. Light blinds me as he opens the door. “Ez?”
Without a word, helmet back on, Ezryn walks from the pantry and leaves the healing chamber.