Kolis called Fire to dispose of the bodies of the four dead whores, then used the basin and ewer on the table beside the bed to cleanse himself and tidy his appearance. He wasn't worried about visitors; everyone knew the girls would still be abed at this hour. He wasn't worried about servants either. This wasn't one of the wealthier pleasure houses in the city. The women had cared for themselves.

Taking his time, Kolis donned the blue coat of his Sorrelian merchantship captain's disguise, re-inked the blue tattoo of crossed swords high on his cheek, and finger-combed the long oiled black curls threaded with gold rings. Few people would question-much less remember-a sailor wandering the pleasure-trails at break of dawn.

When he was dressed, the Elden Mage scooped his black dagger and the bulging, blood-spattered leather pouch off the table and slipped out the brothel's back door into the dark, unpleasant rankness of the alleyway.

After leaving the barracks, Rain headed into the palace to locate Marissya and Dax. The shei'dalin and her mate had made it back to their own chambers last night, but were still abed when he reached their rooms.

By the time they dressed and met him in the king's private dining room for breakfast, Rain had already finished his food and was savoring his second cup of keflee, rolling the flavors around on his tongue and trying to imagine why the drink had such a profound effect on his shei’tani. It was a tasty brew, to be sure, but nothing that made him want to sit up and purr. Still, if Ellysetta liked it that much, he'd keep his palace stocked with the stuff. Well ... only after she was sharing his bed. Smiling wryly, he set the cup in its saucer.

"Why are you smiling?" Dax growled. He glanced at his shei’tani, who was in the process of lifting the heavy veil off her face, and repeated crankily, "Why is he smiling?”

Rain felt a whisper-soft probe, an intrusion that made him scowl, but Marissya only smiled in the face of his irritation. "He has decided keflee might have its benefits," she revealed to Dax. "His courtship is progressing. The first thread of the bond has been forged." She took Rain's face in her hands and rose up on her toes to kiss him on both cheeks. "Miora felah, kem feyreisen.”

Dax turned to Rain, his grouchiness melting into genuine pleasure, a broad smile spreading across his face. "Mioralas, Rain. Good news indeed." Like Bel and the others, Dax offered a hand-clasp and well wishes for a joyous outcome.

"Beylah vos. Thank you both." Rain sipped his keflee and arched a brow at the shei'dalin. "You know it's rude to probe a Fey's mind without permission." He tried to scowl again, just to prod her, but Dax's grin and his own burgeoning happiness made it impossible.

"Aiyah. Almost as rude as waking us after such an eventful night." Marissya poured herself a cup of keflee, then took a seat next to Rain, touching him lightly with her hand. "You are tired. You are expending too much effort to maintain your control. Permit me to assist you." Cool, relaxing power lapped over him, smoothing the edges of his fatigue, fortifying him with strength and calm. "That is all I can do for now," she told him, removing her hand. "It should be enough to see you through this afternoon with your shei’tani.”

Rain nodded his thanks. This was not the first time Marissya had lent her strength to help him keep a grip on his own. It would not be the last, either. The courtship was far from over. Dax groaned a little as he lowered himself into the chair beside his truemate.

"You have not seen to your mate?" Rain asked Marissya, surprised.

"Oh, she saw to me, all right," Dax answered with a tired but wicked grin. "Again and again and again. That's the problem. I think I may be too old for such ... vigorous ... activity”

"Rain was referring," Marissya sniffed, "to healing. As you are well aware.”

"Ah. My mind must still be on last night." Dax drank half his keflee in a single gulp and gave Rain a wide-eyed look. "Do you have any idea what this woman can do with a-”

"Dax!”

Despite the agony he'd endured for seven bells last night while Ellysetta's weave had driven him so relentlessly, Rain decided it was almost worth it to see the cool, imperturbable Marissya turn such an interesting shade of scarlet. The Fey were modest about some things, but relations between matepairs was not one of them. Which meant things must have been far more than merely interesting in a certain suite of palace rooms last night if Marissya was still blushing this morning.

"My mind boggles at the possibilities." Rain shook his head and laughed.

Embarrassment forgotten, Marissya turned to Rain with a look of wonder in her eyes. "That's the first time I've heard you laugh in a thousand years. I had never thought to hear the sound of it again." Tears shimmered in her lashes. She blinked and they spilled over, silvery trails tracking down her cheeks. "Joy to the Feyreisa indeed if she can bring laughter back to my dear friend Rain.”

Marissya's tears touched Rain's heart, and for the first time he realized how difficult the past centuries must have been on her. All the ancients who had survived the Wars had surrendered their own lives to create the Faering Mists. They'd left Marissya, the strongest remaining shei'dalin, to lead the Fading Lands while Rain struggled through centuries of madness. She'd borne it all without complaint and without casting the slightest blame upon him.

He took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Though I did not welcome it at first," he said quietly, "and though it may still end badly, I am grateful for this blessing the gods saw fit to bestow upon me. It has been too long since I remembered why life is worth living. Ellysetta has reminded me.”