Sophie opened her eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling and something holding her hand. She looked up to silver hair and white wings and purple eyes and jerked back and screamed.

Angelia leapt to her feet. "Is she all right?"

Oh my god it's Elio for real! And Queen Angelia too!

Her face felt hot. This was so embarrassing! She curled up into a ball, covering her face with a pillow.

"Don't worry," said Elio, "this is normal. It's just her constitution."

Sophie threw the pillow at him. "That's so mean! After everything I've done, that's the thing you remember?"

He caught the pillow, laughing. Hestia was laughing too. Angelia hid her mouth with her hand, but her shining eyes gave her away.

"I'm so glad you're all right," Angelia said. "You're safe here in the Sun Kingdom."

"What about Rune? Is he okay? And Hanbei and Hutchinson and Ruyi and Clark-"

"All of your friends were brought to the Kingdom, too. You can see them tomorrow. But for now, you need to rest. Oh! And you must be famished."

"No, I'm-" Now that she thought about it though, food was a good idea. "I mean, thank you, Your Majesty, I-"

"Come, Hestia, let's see what the kitchens can do at this hour," and with a wink to Elio she led her out of the room.

When the door was closed, Elio sat on the edge of the bed. "Is this okay?"

"Umm well… uh… sure, why not?" Her face was getting red again. Why couldn't she just talk to him like a normal person?

"Angelia told me everything," he said softly. "I understand I'm here because of you."

"Me and Rune and Clark and… the whole team."

"But it's you who brought them together. You led them."

She couldn't tell if he was pleased or accusing her. She would have come on her own if she could! But they had all risked themselves, because of her. She was shaking. Were they really okay, after all this? Now that Elio was safe, her demons just changed their angle: How much damage have you done? Was it worth it in the end?

"Sophie?"

She closed her eyes. It was so sweet to hear him say her name.

"Sophie…" And the next thing she knew, his arms and wings were around her. So warm and secure. She buried her face in his chest.

"You've done so much for me," he murmured. "I can't even begin to thank you."

And all of those tears she had bottled up, trying to keep a smiling face for everyone, bubbled up and she sobbed her heart out. He held her tightly and rocked her, and she felt him lay his face against her hair.

"I don't know why you believed in me," he said. "For all you knew, I was as bad as a Dracontine."

She turned her head just enough that she could talk. "After you went through all that trouble at the Coliseum? Whatever you were caught up in, I knew you had a kind heart."

"Not like yours. I don't deserve a big-hearted friend like you."

She squeezed him tighter. "Elio! That's not true! Everyone deserves to have people who believe in them. And we all believed in you!"

He pulled back from her enough to look her in the eye. "Even after I…" he seemed to lose his nerve. "Even after you told me how you felt?"

Her face went hot again. Maybe she should never have told him that. "It's not about romance. Whether you liked me or not you didn't deserve… whatever they were planning to do to you."

"And after all that, what are your feelings now?"

"How do I… feel?" Was he asking her what she thought he was asking?

"Do you still feel the same way?" he asked, in a softer voice. "Do you still stand by what you said to me that night?"

A warm tingling spread through her chest. Should she tell him? Could she bear it if he turned her down a second time?

"Because," he continued, "I can't lie to you. I stand by what I said, that I hardly know you. That we don't have enough to go on yet for me to honestly say I feel the same way about you."

She swallowed. Well. She had done her best. And she meant it: she really hadn't done this just in the hope he would fall head over heels for her. His life was worth saving regardless. All the same... she felt deflated.

"But let me be clear," he said. "We don't have enough yet."

"Yet?"

"You said something then about being by my side. And it's only by spending time side by side that we'll ever know if we can have something more. And now that we're both here… I want to spend time with you. To get to know the amazing hero of the two kingdoms, and how she could think there was something in me worth all the trouble of saving."

Her heart was throbbing, and tears came again to her eyes. She let them flow, as she whispered: "There's nothing in the whole world I could want more."

"Thank you," said Elio, wiping away her tears. "Thank you."

He lay down on the bed so that she could nuzzle into his shoulder. As she drifted back to sleep, surrounded by his warmth and lulled by his heartbeat, she finally felt vindicated.