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It was so entirely like Mal to come up with an unnecessarily elaborate plan to achieve his goals, and yet she couldn’t find it in her heart to be angry with him any longer.

The echoes of his fear skittered along the bond like tiny knives during his retelling, shame curling around them.

Shame was such a useless emotion; she wished she could excise it from them both.

If she couldn’t be angry with Mal for not taking action sooner, then why should she still be angry with herself for the same?

She chewed over that thought, feeling lighter for it.

“I forgive you,” she said, then yelped at their sudden dive.

Mal abruptly regained height, wingbeats smoothing out. “If this is pity?—”

She shook her head and then realised he wouldn’t be able to see her.

“It’s not. Do I think what you did to my mother was right or even reasonable?

No. But you’re doing your best to rectify the results of that now, and being angry with you for not doing so sooner isn’t going to change the past. It’s justpointless anger, now, isn’t it?

I find I’d rather direct it at the prince, who is clearly not sorry for or trying to rectify anything .

” She felt his surprise and added, “Also I’m assuming you won’t make any more firstborn bargains.

I reserve my right to revoke my forgiveness in that case. ”

A sliver of amusement cut through the churning mass of self-recrimination. “I will not make another firstborn bargain,” he swore. “But I don’t think I deserve forgiveness; I might be trying to rectify things, but I failed you utterly this evening.”

“Did the diviner say she could find your name, even though she refused your request? Or do you think it was that she couldn’t do it, no matter what you offered?” What could they possibly offer that would be worth more than the diviner’s heart’s desire?

They were flying over the village of silver cocoons now, gleaming beneath the moonlight. “She said that my name was too bound up in bargains for the price I offered, if you want the full cryptic utterance.”

“That sounds suspiciously like ‘I can’t do it’,” Gisele mused. “I’d love to know whether that means a different diviner might be able to.”

“I will write to the Arkrose Nest and ask for the names of any other intangible diviners they know,” Mal promised.

“But we may be running out of time. This is the closest Av—the prince—has come to me since I fled DarkSun. Now he knows exactly which part of Faerie to focus his search on. If he finds me before I regain my powers, the wards won’t keep him out.

And he will find me; he is a royal fae, and his magic is formidable. ”

“So we need to come up with another plan quickly.”

“Yes,” he agreed. “But if he comes before then, I want you to know that I will not let him harm you. I promised to see you free of this bond, and I will not be forsworn.”

Gisele was torn between being touched and exasperated. “How exactly are you proposing to achieve that when we can’t be apart?”

“The prince is not…unreasonable.”

Gisele made an extremely dubious noise. Was some part of him still in love with Avern?

“I mean that he will want my cooperation, and he is skilled with bindings. He may be able to undo the one between us, if I agree to go with him, freely, in exchange for?—”

She was abruptly furious. “I don’t want to hear about this stupid self-sacrificing plan. Have you forgotten that this entire problem was caused by your bargaining for the value of a life? And now you propose to swap your life for mine? How is that any better?”

“It would be my life, this time.”

“No,” she said flatly. “Nobody is bargaining anybody’s life away. We will just have to figure out how to undo this binding ourselves before he finds us—or how to keep him out of Skymallow if he does.”

Mal didn’t disagree with her aloud, but she felt the clarity of his resolution, untouched by her words. It made her furious. How dare he let her down in this way?

He is trying to save you from a terrible fate , her conscience protested. Isn’t that what you wanted from him all along? Or is it the fact that he’s proposing to return to his ex-lover that’s sparking this emotion? Are you jealous? That makes absolutely no sense; he doesn’t want Avern either.

I don’t want him to feel he has to save me out of duty.

What DO you want, then?

She hated it when her mind confronted her with her own unreasonableness. Fortunately, the familiar irregular roofline of Skymallow came into view, its pools glittering silver with reflected starlight. She and Mal were united in their relief.

The house seemed relieved, too, lighting up the tower before Mal landed. The sudden brightness shattered the strange intimacy of the night, and she slipped off Mal’s back, the intensity of the bond easing as they lost contact. Thank the Lady .

The tiles beneath her feet radiated warmth, Skymallow expressing its happiness at their return. She frowned. There was something beneath the surface, a thread of darkness that hadn’t been there when they’d left. Unless that was only a reflection of her own disturbed emotions?

Zingiber emerged from the shadows, sniffing a dislodged feather from Mal’s wings. Oh, you’re back , he said dismissively, as if he had just happened to be on the roof.

“We’re back,” Gisele echoed. It felt like several lifetimes since they’d left.

Mal transformed back to himself at a careful distance, not looking at her. Everything that had seemed so safe, speaking into the dark, now felt prickly and uncomfortable.

She swallowed. “Am I imagining it, or is there something wrong with Skymallow?”

He started. “The wards have weakened again. I’ll check them.”

“Do you want me to go with you?” she asked before she could stop herself, but he was already shaking his head. She could feel a desire to put distance between them, as if he were already regretting the confidences shared.

“No need for it. Go to bed, princess. Sleep well.” He strode off, disappearing down the tower stairs before she could object.