I received a private message, sealed with Dain's signet ring alongside that of the General of the First Army. I didn't open it until we had hashed out a preliminary plan of action for how to deal with the possibility of the dead army reaching the walls of the Antlered Palace. Falling back wasn't an option. To surrender the Antlered Palace was to surrender all of Stag Court.

Alone in Dain's and my rooms, sitting on our bed wearing a pair of his pajamas, I broke open the dual seals. They'd written their messages on the same piece of paper, Dain's on top and Alluin's on the bottom. In Dain's familiar scrawling handwriting, I read:

Dear Leah, In three hours I will engage the dead army. I am frightened now, but I remember what it was like at Phazikai, with cold and moonlight wrapped around me, and how quiet everything became. It is summer now, but I hope the moon will be enough. Despite how awful it is for me to face the thought of you seeing me as the Beast of Phazikai, I would a thousand times rather be lifting my eyes to the sky today with you by my side.

But I am here, and the dead are here, and I will face them for the sake of our people today, knowing that you are defending them right alongside me. Alluin has told me what you've been doing for them. Whether you are a princess, a Regent, a Queen, or a mere mortal girl, you have done a remarkable thing, and saved many lives. I love you with all of my heart, and I am proud beyond words to have you standing alongside me. Yours, Dain

Beneath it in crisp lettering was Alluin's addition, written not from the General to the Regent but from one friend to another. My hands shook as I read it, hating the words he gave me with such clear eyes and trust.

Dear Leah, It has been eleven hours since Dain began fighting. I want you to know that before he turned his attention on the dead, he broke all geases on the entire army, and laid a protection against them on us that will likely last years. If our enemy is anyone but the Queen, his power will hold; let us hope that our fears were wrong, and that we will not face the Stag Queen.

The army is engaging the single dead, and though we have losses they are not nearly so great as they would have been without you and our prince. But I add this note to the letter Dain entrusted me to give to you in order to say: prepare yourself for the worst. Dain told me that if it would be easy, he would be done with the battle before night fell, and true dark is upon us. I think it is likely that the fighting will crash against the walls of the Antlered Palace.