He was staring down at his hands that were just as dirty as the rest of him. The energy rolling off of him was heavy like a weighted blanket. My chest tightened and burned. I closed the distance between us and stepped into the space between his legs, then reached up and pushed my hand through his now long white hair, forcing his head back. Those blue and white eyes looked up at me and the emotion in them robbed me of breath and word. His blue pupils were large, almost swallowing his white irises.

I cupped his face with both my hands, brushing my thumbs over his cheeks while my heart pounded like a jackhammer in my chest. “Everest,” I whispered.

“Francelina.” My name left his mouth on an exhale.

“You did it. You’re free,” I said softly, still stroking his face.

He let out a strangled moan, then nodded and squeezed his eyes shut. All of my control snapped. I dragged his mouth to mine, needing to feel him for just a moment. The taste of syrup and honey had to be the Unseelie and demon blood, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I registered that their blood tasting like this was unsettling and concerning, but in this moment all it meant was that this was real. His hands wrapped around my wrists, then his tongue slid against mine, deepening our kiss.

“Here you go, Everest—oh. Sorry.” Constance cursed from behind me. “I should have knocked. Sorry.”

“The door is open, Connie,” Tenn said with a chuckle.

I pulled back from Everest’s kiss but didn’t let go of him as I glanced over my shoulder. “It’s okay. What do you have for him?”

“Clothes.” Constance grimaced and gestured to Everest’s tattered black pants and lack of anything else. “You can probably make yourself clothes with magic or something, but I figured you’re drained so some fresh, clean clothes might feel nice.”

I frowned down at the pile of black denim and cotton in her hands. “Where did you get those?”

At that, she blushed. “Um, well, these are Tenn’s clothes from before he grew another three inches suddenly.”

Everest straightened. “Are you giving me hand-me-downs?”

Tenn narrowed his eyes on his clothes. “I didn’t realize those were mine.”

Constance cringed. “Sorry. I’m sorry. That might be⁠—”

“I’ve never received hand-me-downs before.” Everest’s voice was light and soft, just a little raspy. And then he giggled. He giggled. When I looked back to him, I found a slight blush in his cheeks and a new sparkle in his eyes. He looked lighter. “I haven’t experienced something genuinely new in centuries.”

“Well, they’re definitely not new.” Tenn laughed. He grabbed the clothes from Constance and carried them over to drop them on the foot of the bed. “They’re properly worn in and definitely come with pre-cut holes in the knees and thighs.”