Some of the tension dropped out of his shoulders, and Dain sighed out his annoyance, settling deeper into his scalding water. "Alright. I relent. You can take your hand off his eyes, Alluin."

Despite that permission, Alluin kept his hand there while I got into the pool and while Zhiolas made a series of increasingly strange faces, then released him once I'd settled. "Your championship of us is appreciated," he said, smiling at me with warm friendship. "I prefer Zhiolas' body parts connected to his body."

"As do I," Zhiolas said, his delight at the situation unchanged. "Do you think our King will kill me if I compliment you?"

"Try it and find out," Dain muttered.

Zhiolas flashed a smile at him and received a lifted lip in return. "Perhaps not, then," he said, settling back against Alluin's arm. He passed a glass of iced tea up to Dain, who took it with a grumble.

I poured one for myself, then settled into the hot water. "A toast, I think," I said, holding up my glass. "To love returned, in all its many forms: friendship, passion, romance, and loyalty."

"I'll toast to that," Alluin said, and held up his own glass. "To opening the gates of our hearts, and accepting the risk of injury for the sake of love."

"To the compassion that allows us to see where our loved ones need help, and the willingness to accept an outstretched hand," Zhiolas added, looking at me with gratefulness in his lavender eyes, and then to Alluin, devotion written plainly across his face.

I turned my eyes to Dain, who was watching me with a small smile, his ears and wing-arms relaxed, and his beautiful golden eyes soft with love.

"To forgiveness and second chances, and to finding a place to stand," he said, looking only at me. "To choosing one another, and the joy of being chosen in return."

Held forever in my soulmate's eyes, I raised my glass and drank to that.

62. Epilogue: A Third Choice

Chapter 62

Epilogue: A Third Choice

Dear Mom & Dad & David,

I am so, so, so sorry I haven't been able to get into contact with you before now. I know this must have been your worst nightmare, and if I had been able to ease the terror and grief for you before now, I would have.