Page 23 of Kingdom of Briars and Roses

She waved her hand, and another layer of shadowsappeared. It thickened like smoke in my lungs. I struggled to breathe through it, my eyes burning. Somewhere above me, Sonoma shouted again, but her voice was muffled now, as if the barrier between us had solidified, swallowing the sound.

I needed a weapon. Some hope of defending myself—but there was nothing. And then a figure moved beside me.

Callan.

He stepped forward, jaw clenched. I spotted a jeweled dagger in his hands. It was clearly only meant to be decorative; an accessory to his tailored party clothes. But he raised it anyway, and my heart squeezed at the way he stood ready to defend me. Or at least try. But then he moved again, and I realized he wasn’t defending me at all—he was backing away.

Toward the exit.

Heliconia’s laugh was sharp, cutting through the tension like a blade. “Going so soon?” she sneered. “The Autumn Court’s perfect little prince deserting his new friends. How disappointing.”

Callan had almost made it to the door.

Magic slammed into Callan, lifting him off his feet and sending him crashing into the stone wall on the far side of the roof. His dagger clattered uselessly to the floor, and he slumped down, unmoving.

“Callan!” I screamed, but he didn’t stir.

“Marriage is such a waste of a vow,” Heliconia murmured, almost amused, her eyes flicking back to me. “But don’t worry, Princess. Your turn is next.”

Power crackled around her.

“Why are you doing this? I’m no threat to you.”

“Not yet,” she agreed. “But someday, you might have been.” She lifted her hand. “There’s only room for one of us in this realm.”

“No!” I tried to move toward her, to stop her, but thepower was already building—twisting like a storm, violent and out of control.

She raised her hands to the sky. “Die screaming, daughter of darkness.”

Black smoke spilled from her fingers. She lowered her hands, pointing the smoke at the crowd. Fae and human alike screamed, trying to run from it, but they didn’t get far before they fell.

In a horrific wave, it brought down everyone standing.

Scrambling back, I tried to call up my flame as I’d done before, but it barely had time to spark to life before her magic snuffed it out—and sank right through my skin.

Pain seared me, worse than any wound I’d ever known. My vision blurred. My legs gave out. A scream built and then died in my throat. The magic inside me stirred, attempting to turn the poison into something it could feed on. But it spread too fast.

The world burned hot and bright—and then blurred.

The ground rushed up to meet me, and all I could think was,This is it.A last breath caught in my chest.

Around me, the Summer Court lay still, unmoving. Silent.

My heart broke for them just before oblivion swallowed me whole.

Chapter Eight

Rydian

The princess didn’t bother to watch me walk away. I would’ve known if she had—because every sense in my body was attuned to her awareness. Not that I welcomed such a reaction. She was entitled and haughty and irritating as Hel. Exactly what I’d expected of the pampered heir. But worse than all of that, she seemed clueless about her destiny. Unfortunately, meeting her confirmed my fear; that her kingdom wasn’t likely to win in a war against Heliconia. Even now, they seemed to have no idea how close that war was to their doorstep. Talking to the princess had been incredibly reckless. I hadn’t planned to get so close tonight. The objective had been recon. Nothing more. And yet, something about her had drawn me in.

Now, it was all I could do to make myself leave.

Callan had nearly spotted me. I wasn’t ready to let my half-brother discover I’d found a way out of the cage our father had put me in so many years ago.

No one stopped me as I descended the stairs and strode out of the castle. Guards had been stationed at regularcheckpoints, but they barely glanced at me as I left, wrapped in shadows.

Outside, torchlight lit the path through the castle grounds. I followed it only as long as the guards could see me then veered off into the gardens, shoving straight through hedges to make up time.

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