He did slow his pace when we got close to Raloden, switching from a full gallop to a ground-eating loping trot once we were off of the main roads and deep into the mountains and forest. Even in the darkness and moonlight, it was gorgeous, the cool of the mountain air sweeping across my skin like the kiss of satin and the sounds of the night all around us. Despite my knowledge of the many wild monsters that roamed Faery, I had no concerns that something might come at us. Dain was far too dangerous and powerful for anything less than divine to challenge us.

When we reached the royal retreat at Raloden, the lights were on for us, shining golden out of the windows. Dain let me dismount, then shook himself with the vigor of a dog after a bath. He wasn't even breathing that hard, as if running more than a hundred miles was simply a little bit of light exercise. I got it, why Alluin and Zhiolas had been so certain that taking Dain on under the full moon was a bad idea. If he was like this in the middle of summer, what must it be like to deal with him in the heart of winter? I was no longer astonished that it had taken him only seven hours to destroy Phazikai. I was surprised it had taken him that long.

"Would you like to go inside?" Dain asked, coming up behind me where I'd wandered towards the building.

His warm breath fanned against my neck, and I reached one hand up blindly to touch him. Dain gave me the velvet of his nose, and I stroked him there.

"You gonna fit inside?"

He snorted, a blast of warm air against me. "Do I look like I can fit through a doorway?"

"Let's sleep outside, then, if you don't want to glamor yourself a hole in the wall," I suggested, leaning my head against his nose. "Assuming you sleep when the full moon's up."

Against me, Dain went very still in the way he did, not even breathing.

I waited for him to collect his thoughts, smiling fondly. Maybe one day I'd stop surprising him enough to make him freeze, but I would enjoy it while it lasted.

After several minutes of standing there – apparently Dain didn't need to breathe very often when he was huge, which I guessed made sense, since his lungs were equally enormous – he finally exhaled, and moved a little closer, lowering his head in front of me so that his muzzle was hooked over my shoulder. "You want to sleep next to me when I'm like this?" he asked, his glamored voice sounding uncertain and with a surprised hopefulness.