Chapter 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

T hrough clouds of sleep, Rosa could hear soft singing. It sounded like an old lilting folk song in complicated Welsh. The pain that had paralyzed her limbs for the last few days was gone. She flexed her fingers and toes under their warm, soft covers. Her eyes fluttered open, and she spied Eli moving about his workbench.

"Hey," she managed, her throat still feeling sore and itchy. "We are back above ground I see."

"We are, indeed, Miss Wylt." Eli looked over his shoulder at her. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, sort of. Tired. Where's Balthasar? Is he okay?"

Eli put down his pen and came and sat by her bed. "He is a little heartbroken. Lily admitted to him that she was the one who accidentally killed Jane. I had suspected it for some time, but she never confided in me about it. Lily is a wreck from Pearl's betrayal and her confession. I'm going to send her away to my brother Vincenzo, who lives in Italy. Venice will revive her and give Balthasar some space to work through his feelings."

"Poor Lily. It's a long time to hold onto such pain," Rosa said as she sat up.

"You are surprisingly compassionate, considering her behavior towards you."

"It was Pearl, not Lily. She would follow Pearl because she was so strong-willed. Lily needs to learn how to trust her own judgment." Rosa ran a hand through her hair. "It is a girl thing."

"I hope that in time she can come back here, and we can be a family again. You will be a good influence on her," Eli said, making Rosa laugh.

"I don't think I have ever been accused of being a good influence," she said before she wrapped her arms around herself.

Hunger was making her stomach cramp painfully. Eli instinctively handed her a cup filled with blood.

"It's okay, Rosa. It will calm down. I didn't even think the transition would work with the faerie magic in you," Eli frowned. "I'll need to check that it's gone for good now. I don't want the queen's magic anywhere near you." He took her hand, "I'm going to need to taste your blood. May I?"

"Wait! Won't it hurt you if it is?"

"I'm Unseelie, Rosa. It will not do any damage to me."

"Okay, do it, but don't judge me on what you see in my memories," she said, her heart racing as she remembered what she saw in his. The man with the golden eyes that she longed to reach out and touch. Who was he?

"I promise that I will close myself off and respect your privacy as much as possible," Eli replied as he took a small knife and pricked her finger. He put the finger to his mouth. His eyes changed to liquid emerald as he gently let her hand go. They refocused on her.

"Is it gone?"

"It is," he said assuredly, "but there is something else we need to talk about."

"Is it tall, dark, and starts with a B?" Rosa squirmed. "I don't know what you expect me to say or do. I love him, Eli. I know I am not meant to, and you had rules. I know I disappointed you and that Balthasar went to Faerie when he shouldn't have—" Rosa stopped talking as Eli hugged her tightly.

"You have never disappointed me, Rosa. I'm responsible for so much pain in your life, even if all I did, I did to protect you. You have taught me many things are possible. You've given peace to my mind with Ryn's death that I've not known since before Deryn's murder. You have given peace to Balthasar's mind also and healed long hurts by loving him. I know how much you love him. So get up and go to him with my blessing, if it's worth anything."

Rosa touched his long, noble face. "Thank you, Eli. It's worth a lot to me. In a way, I suppose you are like a father to me now, which is kind of weird in a nice way."

"I'm glad it's in a nice way," he laughed. "We were close once. With the transition, you will start getting your memories back, and maybe you will realize that you were always my darling girl."

"Do any of them know about...you know, him ."

The smile died on Eli's face. "You were hallucinating, Rosa. There was no one else in the caves with us."

"That's not what I asked."

"You saw a man, but I don't have a son, only Bal and Saul." Eli got to his feet, "Speaking of Bal, you really should go and see him. I know he's waiting for you."

Rosa's yearning for Balthasar outmatched her desire to know what Eli was hiding, so she climbed out of bed and went to get cleaned up.

Balthasar had been standing in front of the canvas for hours. Faerie was terrifying, but there was a beauty there that he so desperately wanted to capture. He painted the stones alive with light and the surrounding landscapes. He would never paint the queen's magnificent halls to save Eli and Rosa any undue pain. He was more interested in the land than in the inhabitants.

Balthasar's hand stilled as an arm circled his waist and a soft cheek was pressed against his shoulder.

"I'm quite sure the road curved the other way," Rosa said, looking at the painting critically.

"Impossible. You were high on faerie magic at the time, so you are bound to be confused." His heart was pounding as he put his brush down and turned towards her. The change had wrought small differences to her appearance. Her skin was paler, the color of her hair even richer, eyes a little greener. But those were inconsequential for the expression on her face was pure and utter Rosa.

"I had a dream that there was snow on those rocks," she said, pointing at the portal. She looked at him steadily, eyes tender with worry. "Eli told me about Lily and Jane. How are you?"

"How am I? You ask me that when you..." Balthasar shook his head. "I'm hurt by Lily's betrayal. I grieve for the person I could have been had I known the truth."

"I know you suffered greatly, but the person you are now is the one I love. Mourn the past if you have to, but don't live in it anymore."

"How can I with so much to look forward to?" Balthasar said as he wrapped his arms around her. "I still have to thank you for saving my life, which will take...oh, years, I imagine."

"Promises, promises," Rosa said as she stood up on tiptoes to kiss him. He could feel strength, the fresh power of the change bubbling up through her. "So what now?"

"Lily is going to Italy, and the Gwaed Gam world is in a mess," Balthasar said. "I think the best thing we could do is get out of the country."

"Leave the country? But won't Eli need you?"

"Eli has Saul to help him. It will do them both good. As for us, I'm sure there is a villa in Spain that's demanding our attention. It doesn't have to be Spain. We can go to Italy or France or wherever it is you would most like to see first. You only need to pick somewhere."

Rosa's lips silenced him, and he buried his hands in her soft, curly hair.

"I would wander the world forever as long as it's with you, Balthasar Vane. Never leave my side again."

"That, my stubborn, wild Rosa, I can absolutely guarantee." Balthasar kissed her, and Rosa Wylt finally felt that Gwaed Lyn was home.