“I can disappear,” she whispered this admission. “That night, in your bedchamber, when you discovered me, when you saw me, I was surprised, for when I do not wish to be seen, I can pull my shadow over me and no one will see me. This is how I could eavesdrop on King Wilmer, Queen Mercy and Carrington. This is how I went unseen at our wedding reception. You see through it, but no one else does, which I think is part of our destiny. It is my magic. It has always been my magic. And it is my secret. No one knows. Not True. Not even Tril. Not anyone, but you. But the…the…fire thing has never been my magic. Until I had you.”

His wife again grew silent.

When she did not break it as she had before, he asked, “Are you done?”

She nodded.

She then shook her head.

“I can also…hear very well. Better than anyone I know. This is also how I knew Wilmer and Mercy and Carrington were speaking about True.”

And when she again spoke no more, he asked gently, “Now, are you done, my queen?”

“I…I…you cannot…cannot know…” she trailed off, wet in her eyes.

Mars did not prompt her.

It took everything he had, but he gave her the time she needed to offer more treasure.

As a tear slid down her cheek, she carried on.

“I have never, except True, and as best she could, Tril, had anyone who looked after me.”

His chest was burning.

His throat was burning.

It felt like every inch of his skin was burning.

“And…and…I am happy to be taking the pennyrium so we have time together and we will be at our greatest strength to defeat the Beast, but I cannot wait to give you children, Mars. The way you speak of the family we will have, I cannot wait to watch you be a father to our babes. To…to share my love for them with you. I find I long for something I never longed for. Something I didn’t know I could have, until you spoke of it. I long for what I will have with you. I long for the life I will build with you. I want it to happen yesterday, which means for the first time in my life, I am happy in my now, but even so, I cannot wait for the morrow.”

“Come here,” he growled and watched her body start. “Come, my wife. Take Piccola. Call Tril. Give her our pet and tell her to deal with the maids as she sees fit. I’ll meet you in our chamber.”

“Mars—”

“You will do this, Silence, or the maids will be sequestered for hours and Piccola will watch our activities without supervision, and she’s a good girl, but she is not yet fully trained, so who knows what she’ll get up to.”