Page 22 of Kings and Monsters

"What do you need from me?" Eirianwen asked. She doubted it was to give him a comforting hug.

"I wanted to ask if you could talk to Rosa. She won't let any of us near her, won't listen to reason."

"And you think I can get through to her where Merlin can't? I barely know her."

"But you are a woman, and you know the queen. I don't think Aeronwen has killed Balthasar, but… I don't know." He touched his chest. "I felt the connection to him rip away. We all did. We won't know the truth until we face Aeronwen, and I need Rosa to do that."

"I don't want to give her false hope," Eirianwen said. She held his gaze for a moment too long before sighing. "I'll try, but I don't know if I'll have better luck getting through to her than you."

Bleddyn bowed. "Thank you. I'm sorry for waking you up."

Eirianwen whispered a command, and her night robe transformed into leather pants and a loose tunic. "Lead the way, Seren Du."

They walked together in silence to the palace, and as she crossed through the black gates, Eirianwen was swamped with memories. In her youth, she had spent as much time behind the palace walls as she had in her own house.

"You've restored it," she said, tentatively brushing her fingers against the murals in the hallways. "I never thought I'd see it like this again."

"Neither did I," Bleddyn replied. "I never thought I would come back here."

"Yet, here you are. It must be hard on you," she surprised herself by saying it aloud.

Despite her feelings on the matter, Eirianwen wasn't so cold that she couldn't recognize the uneasiness and grief in him. The last time they had walked together in such a way, the floors had been covered in blood from the wounded, and their world had burned around them.

"It was a long time ago," Bleddyn answered.

Merlin was leaning against the door to Rosa's chambers and chain smoking. "Oh, sure because this is going to be a good idea. We are all going to die."

"Good morning to you too," Eirianwen said coolly.

"Eirianwen has enough magic to defend herself, and she might be able to get through to Rosa where we can't."

Merlin opened the door, and thorny vines shot out like the tentacles of an angry beast. "Go ahead, my lady. I wish you luck."

Eirianwen pulled out her knives. "You two might want to leave so you aren't in the way."

Merlin snorted, Bleddyn cutting whatever he was about to say off with a stern look.

"Rosa?" Eirianwen said and approached the door.

Vines shot out, wrapped around her tightly. She managed to give Bleddyn an annoyed look before she was pulled into the thicket, and the door slammed behind her.

"Rosa, speak to me. You don't know if the queen has hurt Balthasar. She might have found a way to—" Eirianwen grit her teeth as the thorns cut deeper into her.

The room thrummed with magic, the vines vibrating with unharnessed wild power.Oh, Bleddyn, where did you find this girl?She hadn't felt that level of power in one so young since before the Unseelie Kingdom fell.

"I know you don't really want to hurt me, Rosa. You're not like the queen. You don't like causing me pain. Bleddyn asked me to talk to you, though I don't know why. We don't know each other. Men! They are too frightened to get in here themselves."

The vines stopped tightening fractionally. Maybe Rosa could hear her after all.

"For fuck's sake, girl, let me out of here so we can talk properly. We can't fight the queen without you, so stop having a tantrum or I'll…" Eirianwen swore foully as thorns buried deeper in her skin. She could smell her own blood, and she was done pandering to this princess. Reaching for her own magic, she grabbed one of the vines tightly and whispered curses along it. It shriveled and died, the green turning brown as the magic ate away at it.

"Let me down, or I'll do it to the rest of it. I don't want to hurt you, Rosa, but I'm done playing this game," Eirianwen shouted and struggled against the roses.

"I-I don't know how to stop it," a sob said through the brambles.

"Well, this is just perfect." Eirianwen reached for another vine and fought to hold it, thorns ripping through her palms.Don't forget she's new in her magic. You can help her control it.She was so not in the mood to play mother to Bleddyn's child.

She shut her eyes and looked into the vine, searching for the magic that was Rosa's. It was hot as summer, the power she wielded through the Seelie sword, and it was also as bitteras winter. Touching Bleddyn's power, even though a secondary person was enough to send shudders through her. Gods, she'd forgotten what he felt like, that headiness that spoke to her of midnight sins and forbidden desire.

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