I figured if we were balanced soulmates, I probably could have access to his bathroom, but the adjoining door was firmly locked and I wasn't going to start scheduling bathroom visitation. Bleh. This was stupid. Back to my strung-out Dain.

Dain was curled up in a small ball when I came out, visibly shaking.

Adrenaline panic hit me. I rushed over, catching myself at the last moment and moving like I was sleepy as I clambered onto the bed and touched his arm. "Dain, are you okay? What's wrong? What happened?"

"Promises," he ground out. "I—oh, fuck," Dain moaned, curling up tighter. "You... please."

"What do I do?" I asked frantically, forgetting to modulate my voice. "Dain, please, I don't know what to do—"

"Tell me," he panted. "Released."

"I release you, oh my God, Dain, it's okay, you don't have to do whatever promise you made for me, I didn't mean it, I didn't want to hurt you—"

He let out a sobbing breath, and all of the tension ran out of him like water through a sieve. Dain fished for my hand, and I gave it to him, shaking even harder than he was. Breathing like he'd just run a marathon, Dain pulled my hand to his chest and pressed his lips against my knuckles, his whole body trembling.

"Dain," I said, shock and horror staining my voice.

"I'll... be alright," he said. Dain lifted his exhausted eyes to mine, blinking slowly. "We can't... break our word." He swallowed, and breathed out a sound vaguely in the same realm as a laugh. "Tears us apart when promises... conflict." A tiny smile touched his mouth as I stared at him in dismay. "I should maybe... make fewer... to you."

"I didn't mean to hurt you," I started again, trying not to cry.

He reached over with a wing-arm and brushed the backs of his fingers across my cheek. "Don't worry, mortal girl," Dain said with a weary smile. "You saved me. Will you let me curl around you for a few minutes before you make me eat more horrible pills?"

"Yes, of course," I said, all in a rush.

His face twitched, cringing from struggling to process things fast, but he didn't snap at me.

I blew out a breath and got back under the sheets with him, scooting backwards to be Dain's little spoon and pulling his arms around me. He let me keep his hands hostage, lacing his fingers through mine, the smooth warm surface of his scales comforting against my skin.

What promises had been in conflict? It had to have something to do with the question he'd refused to answer. I can't... It had to be that he couldn't because he would break another promise, and he'd been forced to answer because he'd given himself to me until his arrow-wounds were scars. So what thing did he want that he'd promised not to say?