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“You think?” Dayton says, not unkindly.
“But I did it,” I say. “I can still feel my connection to life, even up here.”
Farron kneels on the side of the pool and reaches over to brush a strand of wet hair out of my face. “I think I felt you.”
Dayton rubs his chest. “Me too. It reminded me of when we gave our magic to the roses at Castletree.”
“True.” Farron wrinkles his nose. He’s probably got a theory about all that.
I spot something bobbing behind Farron: a soft blue light. Another drifts beside my head. I let out a gasp.
“Will-o’-wisps,” Farron whispers. “Do you think they originate here but came down to the Vale when the fae escaped?”
“Or they followed us up,” Dayton says, holding out his palm. A glowing blue light lands there, and he brings it to his chest, where two glowing strings burst out, one shooting to me and one to Farron.
“Mates,” Farron breathes reverently, like it’s the most important word he’ll ever say.
Both of us gently hold out our hands, placing the will-o’-wisps against our chests. Farron’s golden line shoots to me and Dayton, and two of my strings drift back, weaving us together. Three other golden lines spring out of me across the horizon, to Ezryn, Caspian, and Keldarion back at camp.
I stare at our chests, at this beautiful glow, no tangled black lines. “This is so different from when we first saw them in Autumn,” I say.
Farron reaches over the water, grabbing Dayton’s and my hands. I take his and Dayton’s on my other side. “We’ve come a long way since then.”
“It still feels like such a long way to go,” I say.
Dayton squeezes my hand. “But that’s the thing. We’re doing it together now. As a team. As a family. We’ve overcome so much. Sira’s fighting for control and power. We’re fighting for this. For love, for everyone in the Vale to be free. That’s why we can’t lose.”
Tears stream down my face, but I refuse to let go of their hands to wipe them away.
Dayton leans forward, kissing them off my cheeks. I feel his smile press there. “Hey, Rosie, do you think Fare looks too dry right now?”
I grin back. “Definitely.”
25
Dayton
Sometimes I forget to breathe when I look at them.
Rosalina, floating beside me in the water, her hair a halo of starlight. And Farron, perched at the grotto’s edge, sleeves rolled, watching her like she’s a myth he’s read about. The glow from the will-o’-wisps reflects in his eyes, soft and golden, and I swear I can see the whole damn Vale in the way he’s looking at her.
They’re so beautiful it hurts.
Our little will-o’-wisps flutter away in a flurry, off to predict the next love story.
I shift in the water, fully clothed and not sorry about it, and glance at Farron, still dry and far too composed.
“The pool’s missing something,” Rosalina hums, “and I think it might be one very cute, very overdressed Autumn Prince.”
“Agree,” I say. “If you don’t get in this water soon, I’m going to start waxing poetic about how tragic it is for you to be fully clothed in a floating hot spring.”
He raises a brow. “I’m observing.”
“Observing is boring.” I tilt my head.
“I like boring,” Farron says, but he’s smiling.
“Yeah?” I shoot a look at Rosie. “Let’s show Farron how boring we can be.”
