I watched another couple bouts while Zhiolas and Dain got clean. It was pretty fun; the fae moved in such an alien way that it was like watching a movie, especially with all the magic getting thrown around. I was engrossed in watching two glamor-specialist fighters duking it out when I heard Dain's voice lifted in a low howl that I intuitively knew was him trying to get my attention.

About two-thirds of the fae present howled back, eerie ululating howls that made the hair on my arms stand up. I turned to look at Dain, something of a wondering smile spreading across my face. He looked back with what looked like vulnerability on his face, his damp tails swishing behind him.

That was... a gift. He'd given me a gift, shown me something about himself that he didn't have to. People in the High Court called him the Beast of Phazikai with fear and disgust, but for the soldiers, he was their Beast. He'd led them, and he'd protected them, and he had their loyalty until the end of time. Here, in the fighting courts, he was respected and accepted in a way he never was surrounded by courtiers, and Dain had cracked the door for me. He called to me like a wolf, and his pack sang back to him.

I got up, still smiling, and went down to him, looking into those golden wolf eyes with appreciation. I barely noticed Zhiolas standing next to him. All I had room for was Dain, the damp silk of his hair tangling around his ears, his fur spiked up in little tufts where he must have toweled himself dry without bothering to try and smooth it all down, the tightness of fear in his face as he waited for rejection.

Without even thinking, wanting only to reassure him that he had nothing to fear from me, I took his hand, lacing our fingers together like we were teenagers dating or close friends. "Where to?"

Dain slid into stillness, his warm hand closing around mine. For a long moment, longer than it should have taken to respond, he looked down into my face, turmoil in his expression. Then he shook his head, as if shaking off some sort of thought, and returned to normal, with a smoldering confidence settling into his body and onto his face. "I could use something to eat," he said. "Zhiolas?"

I turned with him to look at his friend, who smiled, a bit wickedly. "I could eat. Do you think that there will still be people in the Lesser Garden?"

"There's an easy way to find out," Dain replied, his voice low and amused. "Think of the honor of having the crown prince make an appearance." He glanced down at me with a smirk. "Are you hungry, Leah?"