Dain looked sidelong at me and flicked his lynx-like ear with something of a bashful smile. "I thought maybe you could... ride me. If you'd like, you don't have to," he said, the last words all in a rush. "But I'm much faster than even the deer, and I won't hardly notice the weight—"

I silenced him with a finger on his lips, smiling at him. "I'd love that," I replied. "Are we bringing any stuff with us?"

He shook his head, then licked my finger to get me to move it, which I did with a laugh. "The Raloden hot springs have been a royal retreat for millennia. There's a lodge near them that's kept maintained for us, with a small permanent staff." Dain put one wing-arm around me and gave me a gentle hug. "When you welcomed me home with affection, I dared to hope that maybe you really might choose me. I..." He ducked his chin, holding me a little tighter. "I wanted to believe that we'd get to go look at orchids together, and that you would be there with me because you loved me. So I had clothing for you sent while the delegation from the Court of Mercy was still here, and got everything set up for us to arrive this summer, even though I didn't believe then that we would ever get the chance."

Warmth bloomed in my chest, making my throat tight. I could imagine it, as if I'd stood at his shoulder: Dain choosing to follow the slender thread of hope instead of giving in to despair, defying the world that had dealt him so much pain. Giving himself another vulnerability, for the slim chance that he would be able to drape himself across my shoulders and surprise me with something beautiful.

"Okay," I said, trying not to cry from happiness and relief, the word coming out heavy with emotion. "That's good."

Dain disentangled himself from me and came around to the side of the chair, getting down on one knee and looking into my face. He ran the knuckles of one of his wing-hands along my cheek, then slid his fingers into my hair. "Come away with me," he said, smiling at me with his golden eyes full of devoted love. "Leave your iron crown and the heaps of paperwork for another day. Let's go remember that there are beautiful things still in the world, and that life is well worth living."

"I never forgot, beloved," I said, and let him draw me to my feet and away from the war at last.

60. Moonlight

Chapter 60

Moonlight

The sun hadn't yet set when the moon started to rise. Dain and I had moseyed perhaps a mile down the road towards the garrison when he paused, turning his head towards the horizon as his wing-arms drew in, the hands closing into fists. He took a deep breath and let it out, dropping his eyes to the ground.