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“I would be if you weren’t wearing your hair in a girly little ponytail,” I say, reaching for the ends of his white hair.

He catches my hand. “It’s not good manners to taunt a fairy. We have notoriously thin skin.” Despite the threat, his eyes spark with excitement.

“I’m sorry,” I say, “your ponytail is very masculine. I feel like I’m going to grow a beard just looking at it”

“Mouthy thing,” he says endearingly.

We walk along the Grand Canal, passing tourists as we go. I watch boats move down the canal. Looking out over it are gift shops and restaurants, their warm light spilling out onto the streets.

Venice. It’s even more wonderful than what I imagined it would be like.

“Before we go, can we take a gondola ride?” I ask.

The Bargainer’s upper lips curl when he sees one such boat pass by us. “Why would I ever—?”

“And can we swing by one of those gift shops so I can get a mask?”

I’d also like some gelato—and perhaps a blown glass bottle—but I won’t push my luck too far.

He groans. “Haven’t you ever heard the expression ‘Don’t mix business with pleasure’?”

A sly smile spreads across my face. “Aww, are you suggesting I’m pleasure?” My heart is thumping way too loud.

He frowns severely at me. “I’m definitely rubbing off on you.”

He really is.

“C’mon, it’ll be fun,” I say, grabbing his hand and tugging him towards a little area along the canal where several gondolas wait.

Behind me the Bargainer says, “I’ll only agree to this if you do me one favor—”

Me do him a favor? “Yeah, anything.”

“Please give me my balls back at the end of the evening.”

Present

Even after weland in front of Des’s home and Eli is a whole body of water away from us, the Bargainer doesn’t immediately release me. Instead, his claw-tipped wings brush against my hair as they wrap around us protectively.

“Des?”

His wings twitch.

He lets out a shuddering sigh. “I kept thinking that something was going to happen to you,” he whispers, his voice hoarse. “I kept seeing that animal turning on you. I feared I wouldn’t get to you in time.” His entire body trembles.

Right now I feel oddly vulnerable with him. Maybe it’s the raw honesty in his words; Des has always been careful to bury his feelings under wit and wiliness. Maybe it’s that I felt that same fear when I saw Eli lunging for him. And maybe it’s simply being held in his arms after choosing this life, and not the one I left back at my house.

I lean my forehead against his, placing my hand against his cheek. “Thank you for coming for me,” I say.

I fear what would’ve happened if he hadn’t.

“Cherub,” he says, his voice serious, “I willalwayscome for you.”

We stay like that for another minute, unmoving. It’s actually kind of nice under these wings of his, but eventually I get antsy to put my own two feet back on the ground.

“Des,” I say, “you can put me down.”

Reluctantly, he releases my legs, letting me stand, but he keeps my upper half still caught up in his arms. His wings pull back, but they won’t fold nicely behind him. Instead, they keep spreading and retracting, spreading and retracting, looking agitating.