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You could stop the ocean waves. The thought came out of nowhere, not something I would have ever considered, nor something I would have ever done.

I frowned, brushing it aside, rubbing my thumbs under Tallu’s eyes until his tears dried on his skin.

“He sent us your fingers, one by one,” Tallu said. He frowned, taking my right hand and kissing each finger. I examined my left hand.

I should have had a scar across my forefinger where a knife had slipped in practice and I had nearly cut the digit off. But the smooth skin showed none of my history. I was reborn a new man.

Not new. Different. The voice that whispered in my ear was unlike the first, and I turned my head just slightly, trying to see if there was some creature in the walls.

But my eyes caught sight of nothing. Maybe it was like the badgers in the mountains of Krustau. I could hear them, even through the rock.

Something pitted in my stomach, and I knew it wasn’t true.

You have reformed yourself into something greater. Something greater than you ever were before. You are no longer Prince Airón. Does he know that?

Tallu was watching me, a frown on his face, and I leaned forward, pressing my lips to his, kissing the expression away.

“Can you help me to stand?” I asked.

Tallu helped me up with an arm around my waist. I could feel how thin he was, how much the curse had hollowed him out. If I had been tortured, my body destroyed by Kacha, Tallu had been damaged worse by a curse that lived inside him.

I finally made my way through the door. The hallway was painted red with blood, and filled with Tallu’s Dogs and men I recognized from General Saxu’s command. Tallu led the way out and I recognized this area as the servants’ quarters.

We weren’t at Lord Pehine’s estate, but the building was similar enough that I assumed it belonged to one of the other lords of the Ariphadeus. When we made our way out, General Saxu was directing his men, rows of dead bodies at his feet. Many of them were Kacha’s men, but others were goblins and imperials alike.

“It appears Kacha had been trailing us for some time. While we were at Pehine’s estate, Kacha was here. There are two survivors who said he killed all the remaining servants and staff so that no one could warn us.” Tallu led me out of the main hall, and into the quarters that clearly belonged to the lady of the estate.

“Did he kill Commander Lugotu?” I asked. “And the others left behind at Pehine’s estate?”

“No. They provided us reinforcements. This building was too far from Pehine’s and Lugotu said he hadn’t managed to patrol this far,” Tallu said.

I looked around curiously. It was in the imperial style, and, like Lady Pehine, whoever lived here had shown no desire to give up imperial luxuries, even so far from the capital. Expensive couches took up most of the floor space, thick draperies hung at the windows, and gold-plated items sat on every surface.

“The lord’s quarters were being used by General Kacha,” Tallu said. He raised a hand, gesturing for his Dogs to close the door. “Come.”

Tallu coaxed me onto one of the couches. He frowned down at me for a moment, then directed one of his Dogs to fetch water and towels. He said my name, but all I could think about was his skin, his face, the fierce russet of his gaze.

Then his Dogs were gone and Tallu was crouched in front of me, his hands on my bare legs.

“Do you hear me?” Tallu asked, and I realized he had been speaking.

Blinking, I focused on him, on the frown between his brows, the dark hair that fell over his forehead. He wasn’t wearing his crown.

“What did he do to you?” Tallu asked quietly. He pulled his hands back from my legs and it was the first time I realized I was only wearing scraps of clothing.

I startled, realizing that from my silence Tallu had assumed a different sort of darkness than I had actually experienced.

“No,” I said, grabbing hold of his hands, the skin dry from our extended stay in the desert. “Not that. Tallu, he…”

I looked around the room, but we were alone except for the shadow of Lerolian in the corner.

The blood monk bowed his head. “No one else is here, and I will go make sure that no one is listening at the doorway.”

Even he was treating me with a kindness I didn’t deserve, that the situation didn’t deserve. I wanted to scream, but held back, biting the inside of my cheek. It tasted of ash.

When Lerolian was gone, Tallu turned over my hands, cupping them. His frown deepened, and I knew he was noticing the lack of calluses, the lack of scars. He had mapped my body during our months of lovemaking, and now I was fresh terrain.

His eyes met mine and I could see the frown in them. Almost without thought, my new magic washed over him, healing him and melting away, leaving him strong enough to take a deep breath without pain.