Page 154 of Crowned By the Fae King

I didn't know his past – didn't know who he'd lost to have such grief wound through his soul – but I didn't have to know the details to see the pain. Hadn't I felt exactly like that after my dad had died? Spent years terrified to let my people out of my sight, in case they never came back? We should have come straight home, I sent to Cass ruefully.

He gave Vad a nuzzle and released him. Probably, he sighed back. I didn't think of how scared Vaddy would be. He's lost people before.

Vaduin let go of Cass and sat down on the ground, one arm held across his own chest. Dani came over and sat down in his lap; Vad wrapped himself around her like she was a talisman against danger, burying his face against her neck.

She mouthed thank you at me and started petting Vad's hair.

Of course, I mouthed back, and got in the shower with Cass.

We didn't luxuriate in showering. The mineral water of the hot springs was too crunchy to leave on our skin, but with Vad and Dani sitting right outside the shower, there wasn't any point in lingering. I washed off the last traces of blood and gave my hair the world's most cursory shampooing while Cass maneuvered his wings to get all the feathers rinsed off. We were out in fifteen minutes at most.

Vad had settled in the meantime, so that when we got out of the shower, our friend only looked up at us, his arms wrapped loosely around his soulmate as he rested against the wall.

Cass sauntered over towards the wall of greenery and shook himself like a wet bird, his feathers roused. I bit my lips to keep from smiling at Cass watering the flowers to dry off.

What? he sent through our bond, flashing a wry smile in my direction. I have to get dry somehow. No reason to waste perfectly good water.

By the time we got dried off and dressed, it was getting towards dinnertime, so on a whim we flew down to the Dove's Roost for dinner. Though the rooftop dining area was closed for the winter season, we got shown to a private back room—a lovely space, complete with a crackling fire in a brick fireplace and beanbag-like lounging pillows set in front of it.

A few murmured words to the hostess, and the room was ours for the night and into the morning, if we so desired. There were some benefits to being royalty, and for the sake of our friends, Cass was more than happy to draw on his unasked-for status.

We told the story over dinner. It wasn't an easy task. The agony of it was so raw, and even with Cass keeping his physical reactions to the remembered fear and pain dampened, our connection meant that it was easy for those emotions to get into a feedback loop and amplify. We had to stop several times, breathing with care to settle ourselves, and begin again.

Dani was our saving grace. She seemed to have a sixth sense for when to interject a question or a lighthearted comment, and it kept us out of the mire. Once she chivvied Cass and Vaduin out of their mutual grief, they kept their heads above the water, and the whole thing turned from a grim recitation to more of an adventure tale. Every laugh and smirking comment put a little more distance between us and the pain, and anchored us in the ending of the tale: good food, good friends, and the certainty of victory.

When we got to my rampage, Danica laughed and clonked her head against Vaduin's shoulder. "Twinsies," she said, flashing me a bright smile. "How many walls did you leave standing?"

I bit my lip, glancing sideways at Cass. "I have no idea," I admitted, with my soulmate smirking down at me. "Most of it was still standing when we left, but, um, the Court was pretty pissed off. There might not be a lot left."

Vad let out a weary groan. "Ruekh's mercy, Cass, what rules of magic aren't you setting on their heads?"

"Tch, don't blame me for that one." He settled his arm across my shoulders, his smug pride radiating into me. "Quyen's the one who yoked the Court so damn tightly. It was reflecting her emotions, too, even before we balanced. That's probably why my impact on the Court got so much more intense once she made it to the palace."

"Really," Vad said, looking at me with interest. "I hadn't even heard of that happening with the Monarchs of newborn Courts. I thought it was just more of Cass being weird."

I made a face. "Apparently I'm a mage of some sort. At least, that's the going theory."

Cass squeezed his arm across my shoulders, giving me a half-hug. "I don't know of a name for how Quyen's source manifests—"

"So there probably isn't one," Vaduin inserted wryly.

"—but suffice it to say that she forged her own connections back along our soulmate bond and our tie to the Court," Cass finished, his pride radiating into me. "I suspect we'll be discovering what, precisely, that means for years to come, but it certainly means that the Court is more prone to acting on our emotions."

"Neat," Dani said, flashing me a bright smile. "It's nice to have another mortal mage around. Tell me about the rampage."

So I did.

When we'd finally exhausted the stories and Vad had finished grousing about us fucking in hot springs instead of coming straight home to tell him we were okay, Cass tossed back the last of his wine and flashed a wicked smile at his friend. "Let me make it up to you, snake-eyes," he suggested. "One hour of cuddling for every hour you had to needlessly suffer while I celebrated being alive."

Vad's ears dropped down in shock.

Dani started laughing, looking up at her soulmate. "Ooh, he's got your mark, hissy-kissy." She tousled his hair. "Are you even gonna try bargaining?"

"Since when is cuddling part of your repertoire?" Vad got out, sounding strained.

"Since about fourteen hours ago, when I chose to stop deciding for other people what they were allowed to want from me," Cass said cheerfully. He got up and stretched his wings like a bird. "Don't think I haven't noticed how much more physically affectionate you've gotten with people since you and Dani balanced. You already know what it's like to touch me, so if you want that—"

"Yes," Vad blurted out. He shoved himself to his feet. "Can we, right now?"

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