Author's Note: Sorry, gotta leave the cliffhangers so you'll want to read more. :)

Clarion didn't even know what to do-she was too shocked to fully process yet what had happened.

The guards arrived, encircling Milori and her to keep an eye out for more danger. Her chief healer stepped forward, knelt and ran his hands over Milori. "You can replenish him?" he asked Clarion.

She nodded, her brain starting to function again. "Do a full scan."

The healer sprinkled a fine layer of sand over Milori and then drew out a few particles of dust that hovered over Milori. Several particles adhered to the sand, but the majority didn't. Her heart slammed in her breast waiting for the results-Waiting to hear what damage there was.

"I don't see anything wrong with him internally. He has a bump on his head that knocked him out, but he should be fine from that." He swiped away the dust and sand, and Clarion leaned down to gently blow dust back into Milori.

"What about his wing? It's almost completely torn in half," she sniffled and laid a blanket of pixie dust over in him in hopes that it would help somehow. She looked up to see the rest of the dust back in the tree.

He shook his head. "I have no idea. Even if I did, he needs to be in winter for a proper treatment."

Tears cursed down her cheeks. "Fetch Sled and Gliss," she whispered to a couple of her guards. Then she looked up at Thomas and two other guards. "Carry him to the border," she ordered.

He was laid down just on the other side of winter, and she closed her eyes, the tears falling faster. Clarion knelt down on the border. "I love you," she whispered and kissed his brow. Then she set her hands on his chest, closed her eyes and felt her body get cooler as his talents flowed back into his body.

"My queen, perhaps when he is better, he will want to give his talents back," one of her new guards said gently.

She looked down at Milori, her heart breaking for him. "A fairy can only lose talents if he is to be exiled," she whispered and closed her eyes, battling the tears with quiet grace.

Sled and Gliss raced over with another fairy, their eyes wide with fright.

"Sled," she said softly. "You were given back your talents the day Bernard was exiled. How long before you could tolerate the extreme cold?"

"I needed it instantly and then felt so much better."

Clarion took Milori's hand that was already colder than moments ago. Her breath came in choppy gasps, not wanting to leave him. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to remain calm. "Frost him and take him to the North Woods. Seek Dewey and your best healer," she sniffled, her back straight and tall.

Sled and the other fairy lifted Milori and flew away.

"Gliss?" Clarion croaked, still on her knees and staring at Milori's imprint in the snow.

She set a hand on Clarion's shoulder. "I will bring word as soon as he wakes up or we know something," she promised and took off.

Clarion couldn't be persuaded to move. She stared at that spot in the snow for a long time. Everything was foggy as if she was watching it happen to someone else in a dream. Thomas wrapped his cape around her, seeming to understand what she wanted but was too in shock to even understand herself. As soon as his cape was around her, she got up and her feet moved forward of their own accord. Then she sat down in Milori's imprint, drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs.

"Let's give Her Majesty some space," Thomas told the guards. They turned around to give her privacy.

What had she done to him? She had been selfish wanting him to stay with her all night, so desperately desiring to share every aspect of her life with him like other fairies did with their mates. Not only had she possibly cost him his flight-the very being of a fairy-but she had also given him back his talents that he had so desperately not wanted. It was all because of her-faking the crime, giving up his talents, pushing himself to stay in summer, fighting the hawk...everything that had led to this moment was because of her.

She sat there for hours with her arms around her legs and stared at the snow, slowly rocking herself. And slowly going mad with guilt.

"My queen?" Thomas approached her at sunrise and held out his hand. "You must come on this side at least so you don't get hurt from the cold."

She just stared at the snow, welcoming the cold that was numbing her heart. She distantly heard a fairy tell her that Mountain had to be stitched up and would make it if he pulled through the next couple days without infection.

Gliss arrived shortly thereafter, and Clarion looked up with hope. She knelt beside Clarion with tears in her eyes. "You cannot sit in winter. Your fingers are so red." Then she gently helped Clarion into spring, and the healer stepped forward to warm her hands and feet.

Clarion's attention was solely on Gliss, her heart in her throat so far that she felt ill.

"He is awake and doesn't appear to have any issues from hitting his head. We submerged him in a lake in the North Woods, pushing even him to his limit of cold."

"Is he alright?" she asked with tears in her eyes.

Her lip quivered. "He's in a great deal of pain."

A tear fell from Clarion's lashes onto the stone.

"Dewey and one of our healing-like fairies are trying everything they can." She swallowed hard. "They...they don't think his wing broke from the hawk."

She blinked in confusion.

"Queen Clarion, I think you should know that before his talents were taken, Lord Milori's wings shriveled several times from the heat. The worst time was when he was in the ice cave-he didn't want to tell you that's why he was in the North Woods last time. It took days of trying so many things to heal his wings."

Her hands flew over her mouth, and tears ran down her cheeks. "It's why he wouldn't sit up in bed? So I wouldn't see them?"

Gliss sniffled and nodded. "They think his wing broke from the heat, finally not able to take any more strain."

Clarion felt dizzy. He had been suffering and constantly putting himself of danger because of her. "Can his wing be fixed?"

Her face crumpled. "They said that if it had torn on the outer edge, it wouldn't be causing pain. But it's nearly three-quarters detached and causing so much pain that they need to finish amputating it."

Clarion's chest heaved and she suddenly couldn't get enough air. What had she done to him?

Thomas immediately grabbed her and eased her down to sit on the stone.

"Take me to him," she begged and looked up at her with tears staining her cheeks.

She shook her head and hiccuped, "You cannot go there. He's trying to convince them to give him time and see if it will heal, but the tear is causing him to lose sugar." She fell to her knees and took Clarion's hand. "Please, you must tell me what to say to him. He's afraid of you seeing him like this. Please, none of us are able to reach him. He's dying."

Clarion burst out a sob and cried so hard she didn't make a sound.

Gliss wrapped her arms around her and Clarion clung to her.

"Can he be brought south?" she hiccuped.

She shook her head sadly. "Dewey says it would finish him if it's before the amputation," she whispered.

"Tell Milori that," Clarion hiccuped, "a wing is not worth him dying for." She looked up at Gliss, large tears splashing onto her dress. "No wings or two, him I would go to war for."

Gliss gave her a hug and then left.

Thomas knelt beside her and laid a hand firmly on her shoulder in comfort.

Clarion buried her face in her hand and cried gut-wrenching sobs.