Page 153 of Crowned By the Fae King

We did have to make an appearance at some point, but Cass was stark naked and my clothes weren't fit to be seen, so we portaled straight to our enormous bathroom. Cass blew out a heavy breath, the sheen of ice on his wings melting, and turned on the shower.

"Gods," he groaned, dropping his head back. "I never thought I'd say this about the Clement Palace, but it's good to be back home."

I laughed and dumped my ruined clothes in a heap. My sword went onto the counter for later tending. "Looking forward to more hot water, splendor?"

He gave me a wicked smile. "Looking forward to—"

The door flew open with a bang. Cass shied and I squeaked, whirling to face the door. Vaduin stared back, his ears dropped and brows slanted.

His eyes flickered down my body, color rising on his cheeks. "You're back," he said, sounding strained.

Bemused, I set my hand on my hip and cocked a brow at him. "What did I say about knocking, mister?" I asked in an arch voice.

Vad did not stop staring.

Cass cleared his throat. His amusement curled through my blood. "See something you like, Vaddy?"

He let out a low whine and dragged his eyes back up to mine. "What happened to your scar?" he asked, halfway to panting, his wings mantled and tail lashing.

My expression softened at the obvious upset. "He did," I said, pointing over to Cass with my thumb.

Vaduin's bicolored gaze slid over to Cass. An expression of total bewilderment settled onto his face, his tail drifting slowly down to lie on the floor in serpentine curves. "You…" he started. He made another low whine. "Chevalier, you… what happened to you? Your scars, your… you had claws."

Steam started drifting up from the water pounding down from the showerhead. Cass bit his lip, then stepped over and wrapped his arms around Vad, tugging him up against his broad chest. "I died, sunshine," he said softly. "I had to make myself a new body." When Vad whined a third time, an animal sound of fear and pain, Cass kissed him on the temple. "It's alright. I'm alright."

"You died?" Vaduin sounded like he'd been gutted. "You— You—"

"It's alright, chanson," Cass said, his voice gentle. "You haven't lost me. I'm right here. My body's simply a little different than when you last saw it."

Vad's tail slid over and coiled up Cass' bare leg. His arms slowly went around his friend, clinging to him.

Practicing some fae politeness, I averted my eyes, snagged a towel, and wrapped it around myself. Fae might not have cared about nudity, and I was pretty comfortable with being nude in front of others, but it felt a bit too weird to do emotional conversations while naked.

"Hey, is everything okay in… there…?" Danica's voice trailed off as she came to a halt outside the bathroom, looking a bit like a deer in headlights as she stared at the panorama: a naked, perfectly healthy Cass hugging Vaduin while steam fogged the air and I stood by in a towel.

The sight of her coming from my side of the suite caught me up short, my skin going cold as everyone I'd left behind came crashing back in. "Oh, holy fuck. Liyn. Kat. Are they—"

"They're fine," Danica assured me, reaching out to grab my hand. "We found Katerina in the morning when we arrived from Mirage. She had some rope burns and bruises, but nothing that couldn't get spruced up by a healer. She told us what happened, that you and Yllana got taken, but…" Her throat worked. "Liyn woke up around noon, made some noises about Cass, and passed back out. The other healers said he'd be down for another couple of days."

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, and nodded. "Yllana's dead," I said, clinging to Dani's hand. "She killed the Misted Duke for getting Tarra killed. For—hurting Cass." I swallowed, hard, my throat aching. "Mutually assured destruction. I couldn't save her."

I'm so sorry I didn't tell you first, I thought to Cass, guilt wrenching at me. I locked it all away so I could function, and then everything happened, and…

It's alright, love, he sent back. His sorrow hung between us, like silt in still water. We haven't had a time to sit and get the story unspun yet. I understand. Aloud, he said, "Why don't you let us rinse off, and we can all share our words after?"

A low whine was Vaduin's only answer.

Cass kissed his cheek and stroked his hand down the feathers of his back. "It's alright, sunshine," he murmured again. "I'm still here. Don't be afraid."

I watched them for a long moment, then turned and met Dani's emerald eyes. "There's not an easy way to tell your best friend you died and had to reconstitute a new body," I said, my throat going thick at the memories—at the way my soulmate's heart was breaking for his closest friend. "It's a long story. We don't have to shower. We can just talk if that's the best thing."

"Can I stay?" Vad asked, his voice throaty. "Can I— I just—"

Please? Cass asked me silently, as if I would ever say no.

"Of course you can." I walked over and set my hand on his arm, looking up at him. I stroked my thumb along his skin. "Whatever you need."

He nodded, still holding onto Cass. Some of the tension eased out of his posture, though, wings lowering and breathing easing. The very tip of his tail brushed against my bare leg in a gentle caress.

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