Page 135 of Crowned By Roses

With the rose safe, I’m free to do what we came for.

I hold the bow up. A shimmering golden arrow forms, and I nock it against the string. The point of the arrow leads directly to Sira’s forehead. I pull back.

This…this is it. This is the end. When I release this arrow, I will kill Sira.

And everything she’s become.

Castletree.

I’ll…kill Castletree. For good.

My heart beats in a slow, thundering rhythm. Sira’s wide-eyed stare holds me tight. I pull my gaze away and look at the monster that’s become of our home.

In that moment, I see her. Sira, not as who she is now, but what she once was. A dreamer. An outcast. A girl who yearned to create beautiful things and wished she could fly.

And I see myself. Broken, alone. Trapped in my cabin, chained to a life I never asked for. I feel it like a scar. That emptiness that gnaws and gnaws until there is only hurt and anger left. In another world, what terrible things would I have done to not feel so alone?

But Sira’s not alone now.

I’m here.

I lower the bow, and it shimmers into my necklace.

Then I fly into the hollow and wrap my arms around Sira.

59

Keldarion

“The bow!” Dayton cries. “She let it go!”

Ezryn’s helm tilts all the way back. “What is she doing? Why would she…”

My brothers and I have gathered in a circle, our divine weapons pointed outward. With the assistance of the Queen’s Army, the shadows are being driven back to the moat. My gaze catches on Caspian, barely visible among a tangle of purple briars. Whatever he, Rosalina, Aurelia, and Wrenley have devised, it seems to have stilled the massive tree entity.

Skyward, in a hollow in the trunk of the tree, Rosalina’s golden wings shine like a beacon. She’s…embracing Sira.

“We need to help her!” Dayton starts to run forward. “Someone give me a boost. I’ll⁠—”

“No.” I throw an arm out to stop Dayton and the other princes who have begun following his lead.

Dayton looks at me with a betrayed expression. “No?”

I drift my gaze back to Rosalina. It’s not just her wings shining. There’s a pale, golden glow emanating from her. It drips like the break of dawn into the hollow, over what remains of Sira’s fae body, and then farther, down into the wood and stone that make up the tree creature.

That make up Castletree.

Farron stares up at Rosalina. “She’s trying to heal Castletree. The way she did when Sira first attacked months ago.”

“I was there,” Ezryn says, voice solemn. “It was impossible. It required too much power.”

My heart sinks into my stomach. He’s right. Rosalina had given everything, nearly her life, trying to save Castletree. But it wasn’t enough. And it won’t be enough now⁠—

Unless…

I grab Farron’s shoulder. “What was that thing you were talking about after you found the library at Airaleth?”

Farron’s eyes go wide. “Uh, that I really need to brush up on my ancient languages?”