And given how rare it was, to see him truly unguarded and at ease, I hated to disturb him. But I walked across the room to the side of the bed and gently touched his shoulder.

He was awake in an instant, silver eyes cracking open to meet mine, never failing to take my breath away. “Hey,” I greeted, smiling. “Sorry to wake you, but we have to be somewhere soon, remember?”

He grunted and, to my surprise, shifted to his back and put the pillow over his head. “I don’t suppose I could convince you to go without me,” he groaned, his voice muffled beneath the fabric. “Tell Mab I’ve been eaten by a manticore or something?”

“What? Don’t be ridiculous.” I snatched the pillow off his head, and he winced, peering up at me blearily. “It’s our first Elysium together, Ash. They’ll be expecting us. Both of us.” He moaned and grabbed another pillow, covering his eyes. “No playing hooky and insulting the Winter Queen. I’m not doing this by myself.” I took the second pillow, tossing it on the floor, and mock-glowered at him. “Up.”

He regarded me with a wry smile. “You’re awfully perky for someone who kept me up all night.”

“Hey, you started it, remember?” I feigned defiance, but it still made my heart soar to see him like this. It was like tiny pieces of his wall crumbled every day, showing me the bright, beautiful soul that lay beneath. I knew it was there, of course, when he had returned from his quest at the End of the World, but it had been new and fragile and overshadowed by his past, by his Unseelie nature and ruthless upbringing. Now, though, I could see more of it every day. He was still Ash the ice prince to everyone else in the castle, and sometimes that frozen barrier sprang up when he was angry or upset, but he was trying.

“So, come on.” I poked him in the ribs, making him grunt. “If I have to suffer through this, you do, too. That was part of the deal when you married me.”

I went to poke him again, but his hand shot out faster than I could see, grabbing my wrist and pulling me forward. I gave a startled yelp and fell on top of him, and his arms immediately snaked around my waist, trapping me against him.

“I don’t know,” he mused, giving me a lazy smile, as my heart started pounding in my chest. “What would you do if I just kept you here all afternoon? We could send Glitch to Tir Na Nog in our place—I’m sure he’d smooth things over.”