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“So you took the punishment instead.” His words have no intonation, so I have no idea what he’s thinking.

I nod, and his mood continues to worsen.

Des carries me out of the castle, crossing the palace gardens as he heads toward our guest suite. The darkness he’s been dragging along with him now shadows the palace grounds, dimming the sky and choking the life out of the plants it touches.

Fairies stop what they’re doing to watch us, the wrathful Night King and his mate, the latter dripping blood along the stone pathways.

My sight’s becoming a little unfocused, spurred on by either pain or blood loss, and damn, but my wings hurt.

As soon as we near the giant cedar that houses our rooms, we catch the attention of several Night soldiers who man its perimeter. Once they see us, they come running.

“Get a healer,” the Bargainer orders them.

As quickly as they arrive, they dash off.

Des storms up the staircase that winds around the tree. When he reaches our rooms, he kicks open our guest suite’s front door, splintering the wood frame. Inside, he heads to the bed before laying me out on my stomach, his touch gentle.

“We’re going to heal you, love,” he promises me, moving some of my hair away from my face.

I nod to him, swallowing my emotions. I feel shattered and vulnerable, and I’m so unused to being taken care of. I forgot how nice it is to matter to someone and how tender the ferocious Bargainer can be.

He straightens, and a moment later, I hear him curse under his breath, presumably after getting a peek at the damage to my wings. And then his hands are on me, smoothing down my skin. I feel his magic soak into me, dulling the sharp bite of my injuries.

I sigh out my relief, the churning in my stomach settling now that the throbbing of my wounds has dulled.

“This will numb the pain, cherub,” he says, “but I do not have an affinity for healing.” He crouches next to me, taking my hand. “What you did…” He searches my face. “No one will forget it. Not that woman you protected, not the room full of fairies, not the Flora Queen and her consort—and not me. Mara might wear a crown, but everyone in that room saw who the true queen was today.”

My throat tightens. He’s going to make me cry.

“I couldn’t just stand by while—”

He silences me with a kiss. “I know.”

Just then, someone knocks on the remnants of our door. I hear several footfalls as soldiers file into our suite, bringing with them a fae healer.

Des slides away from me to speak with the group. For a minute, all I hear is low murmuring, and then the Bargainer and the healer come back over to me.

“But she’s a human,” the healer protests when she sees me.

The shadows in the room deepen. “She is.” Des says it like a challenge.

“Surely you know our magic doesn’t work on—”

“Heal her, or consider your life forfeit,” he orders the woman.

The room is quiet for several seconds. Then I hear a shaky exhalation of breath. “I’ll do my best, Your Majesty.”

Des comes to my side a moment later.

“Stop picking on innocent fairies,” I breathe.

“No one here is innocent,” he says darkly.

I shiver a little, my skin chilled. I don’t know if it’s heavy blood loss I’m experiencing or just shock. Des rubs my arm, and his magic is at work once again, trying to warm me.

“Do you want to know a secret?” he whispers, threading his fingers through mine.

“Always,” I whisper back. I don’t mention the fact we’re in a room full of fairies. Knowing my mate, what he’s about to tell me is either no great secret, or else he’s muted the world to our conversation.