"Which of course won't be happening," I said soothingly, watching Dain as he went over to Lord Keljyre and slung one blood-smeared arm over the poor man's shoulder as if they were friends, making him turn a remarkable shade of green. "The whole slope is probably still on fire and covered in dead people and iron, and while we don't have enough beds in the Antlered Palace for everyone, there's plenty of space if people don't mind sleeping in ballrooms and offices."

"We abandoned our camp supplies when it became clear we would have no time to rest," Alluin said, still tense but at least less snarly.

"We used all our linens to make nail traps," I said, wincing.

"I will glamor what sleeping arrangements I can," Dain said, steering Lord Keljyre over to the table. He set one hand on the central table, his other arm still across the lord's shoulders, and closed his eyes. A moment later, a strange sort of floor plan appeared on the table, with the many rooms of the Antlered Palace linked by colored lines rather than something architectural.

Because the damn place really isn't laid out with regular geometry, I thought with a smile.

"What about the bodies, your majesty?" Lady Yllatris asked, looking at him with an assessing expression.

"For now, I will hide those within the palace," Dain said, sorrow in his voice. "We are all weary. When we've had some rest, we can lay the dead to rest."

"And the injured?" Alluin asked, his voice dangerous.

"The banquet hall and two of the ballrooms were turned into hospitals long before the fighting reached the walls, General," I said, walking up to him and putting my hands on his face. "I imagine that already the wounded are being carried there, and tended."

My friend looked into my eyes, his own haunted and exhausted. Slowly, he reached up and put his hands over mine, calloused and strong. "There are so many injured," he said, his voice cracking. "So many dead."

Gently, I pulled his head down and kissed him on the forehead, then pulled him into an embrace. Alluin's arms went around me and he started crying, exhausted and brutalized, as I rested my face against him. I looked at Dain, who gave me a small nod. None of the others in the room met my eyes, or even looked in my direction, as the General of the First Army wept in my arms.

"You did a remarkable thing, General Xilsatra," I said quietly. "You protected your nation from annihilation."

"You opened the gates for me," he choked out, his voice thick. "You opened the gates."

"Of course I did," I said, stroking his hair. "Now come away from the battlefield. Let those of us who have strength left take care of the weary and the wounded. Let the Antlered Palace care for you."

After a moment, he nodded against me, then disentangled himself from me.