The three woke up in darkness again, but this darkness was not absolute. In fact, a faint purple washed over the horizon. Dawn fast approached.

Boa stood over them, wearing the most furious expression any of them had ever seen on her. “For the ing love of all ing ,” she hissed, and one of her hands seized Yunho’s arm. He yelped most unlike a noble as she dragged him upward. Every other word she spat at him was accompanied by a great shake of his frame. “Naturally you all had to die on me when what I needed was an audience to witness my win against these ing shadow s! And you just had to be Mr. Can’t ing See an Ambush When It’s Right in Front of Him and go all spread-eagle on us while we’re fighting for our lives! Jung Yunho, you are the most selfish, the most arrogant, the most annoying er I have ever had the misfortune to call my king!”

He waited until she went back to breathing angrily before chancing a tiny smile. “I appreciate all that you do, darling Boa. It is upsetting that we missed what sounds like a great show.”

“Pft. ‘We.’ I hope you fall into a ing well and get eaten by invisible well piranhas.” She shoved him back, still muttering under her breath. “And you two,” she rounded on Changmin and Yi Xiang; the former jumped into the air and the latter went rigid. “One swallowed by a ing house and the other drained because he used his own powers! You are truly pathetic.” She huffed and hoisted her whip over her shoulder, scowling. “Expect a bill from me for saving all of you. And your better name me general or something after this. I’m just saying.”

Yunho gave her a slight bow of respect, wincing as he did. “Of course, milady. I look forward to all the paperwork that accompanies a knighting.”

“Knighting! Bah!” Boa tossed her long hair aside, still visibly agitated. A pang ran through the king when he saw her wounds, especially the slash that ran from her ear to her neck. They would all need first aid sooner rather than later. “I’ll be the first knight to get away with lacing your evening tea with something sinister. Should turn you into a frog, and make you spread eagle over a vat of boiling water. Don’t with me, any of you. I know where you live and I have so many connections, it’s not even funny. Back to that bill—”

“Doctor!”

Only one voice could melt the frighteningly tiny woman into soft butter. She whirled around, searching among the many fighters until she found her. A tall, willowy girl with the prettiest straight brown hair, clad in a dress so much better than the rags the old doctor used to make her wear. In her hands she held her own foot, which must have come off in the battle. “My Sally,” Boa breathed and disappeared into the crowd, reappearing at Sally’s side. They embraced, Sally gently the doctor’s hair and whispering something to her.

The king helped the Winter Prince stand up shakily. Changmin’s eyes tightened as he took in the contusions and scrapes. There was a gash that still ran blood on the top of his forehead, and he held his arm tenderly. And what else did the fall do that we can’t see? “You okay?” he asked, realizing it was a stupid question but needing it answered.

“I am now that I’m home.” Yunho put a hand to his bleeding wound and groaned when it came back wet. “For an immortal beings, I sure do bleed a lot. I imagine when my power comes back full-strength, I’ll be good but…I feel like such a human.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Changmin laughed.

“Still, this is odd and I’ll be happy when everything’s back to normal—or well, as normal as can be.” When he saw Boa and Sally speaking with their heads together, he made a noise of comprehension. “I’m guessing we have Sally to thank for my armies arriving?”

Yi Xiang nodded. “Boa told me when I first escaped the realm of darkness. The doll girl discovered what we were up to and sent for reinforcements. Apparently, everyone in town heard about it and decided to join in. Can’t say they aren’t loyal to their ruler. But let’s be honest with ourselves: we are much too pretty to cease existing. Destiny had to intervene for these faces.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Yunho stared at Changmin for a moment, surveying the damage done. He didn’t look half as bad as the Boogeyman, but he still bore signs of bruises beneath his clothes. Deciding he would worry about that later, he addressed them both. “She has a point, you know. Boa. Without her, we might not all be standing here.”

“You figured it out too, your Majesty?” Yi Xiang grinned.

Changmin frowned at them, more than a little lost. “Wait, does this have to do with her congratulating me earlier in the graveyard? Don’t ask,” he added when Yunho raised an eyebrow at him. “She mentioned something about being tied with you.”

“Energy and essence are strong elements in life,” Yi Xiang explained. “And the one thing we three have in common is…each other. Some people consider being physical a meaningless thing, but in this case, it helped our very lives. I told you that blood seals a deal better than any stupid handshake. It worked its magic and tied you to me. Your…romp in the sheets with Marshmallow over here secured the bond with him, albeit in a different way. Although in my opinion, the bond between us is incomplete,” he said grudgingly, but with a wistful gaze at the prince. “If only, if only. I am such a good lover, you know. The king can attest to that.” He ignored Changmin’s sputtering and Yunho’s responding protests, and turned to an approaching skeleton warrior as they bickered. “Wouldn’t you agree that an affair with the Winter Prince is a great fantasy? I would have him bent over my bed so fast, begging for my touch, and he would enjoy every second of it.”

The skeleton leaned sideways, determined to not come between what promised to be a trap. “Sire.”

Yunho stopped reassuring Changmin (who now folded his arms across his chest, a mixture of irritation and actual curiosity on his face) and turned to his subject. “Yes?”

“We have vanquished the very last of the soldiers, and any who escaped will be henceforth banished once the good doctor can come up with an enchantment to keep them out.” It bowed, the old bones clinking against each other. “The townsfolk wish to hold a celebration in the square for this victory and they desire their king to revel among them.” With that, the king was drawn back into duties, though he did manage a small smile towards both of the men before turning away.

Yi Xiang laughed quietly. “Victory? Despite knowing he’ll try to come back?”

“I hate saying it, but next time we’ll be better prepared. Maybe he’ll stay locked up in the darkness.”

“That’s a mighty big reach, princeling. Ah.” He stood straighter. “Right. The, uh…doomsday thing. Someone should check on that—oh! Suddenly, my schedule is free for the next few days. Why, I would be utterly delighted to take a holiday and check on it!” He started to walk away, but Changmin pulled him back. “Watch the goods,” he purred, though he looked confused. “The battle’s done, and you came out as the shining victor. Don’t force the loser to stay.”

“Beg your pardon, but I’m pulling rank right now, so listen up.” Changmin steeled himself, sensing that the words would feel like acid in his mouth, but he had to say them. “It’s years too late, but…I’ll never be able to thank you for staying by him when I didn’t. I don’t care that you two were intimate and shared things he might never share with me. You didn’t have a broken king. You had a different side of him, a side I’ll never see for myself. And I swear I’m not going to try to erase that, okay?”

Yi Xiang studied him, a tic appearing and disappearing from his jaw. “You are a very strange prince, Changmin,” he said at last. “I regret that our story is over before it ever began.” And without warning, the Boogeyman finally got his swift kiss from the Winter Prince and nicked his bottom lip with an incisor, immediately drawing blood—and Changmin’s instincts told him to kiss and bite back. The second he realized how much of a mistake that was, he pushed at Yi Xiang until the man backed off, cackling. “Done deal! Lovely doing business with you, really. Consider it all sealed up with that proverbial red silk bow.”

“I—you—WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!”

“You swore,” Yi Xiang trilled to him, attracting the attention of nearly everyone around them. “I have your word that you will not hurt my king by changing his past or sweeping things under the rug. Now I will give you a promise in return.” In one of the most surprising turn of events that ever graced the realms, Gao Yi Xiang sank to a knee and bowed to the shocked prince. In a ringing voice, he stated, “Henceforth, I serve not one…but two kings. You will always have my loyalty, even when you wish to shoo me into the deepest, darkest depths of the oceans. I vow to aggravate and annoy you for life, and protect all that is yours. This is the Boogeyman’s declaration, and may all present serve as witness.” He lifted his head, grinning. “Now where’s your pointy royal stick?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Someone clapped a hand on Changmin’s shoulder. He wanted to wipe the stupid little smile off Yunho’s face as the Nightmare King stepped around him, rapier in hand. “Just coat this with frost, and it’ll do as a noble sword of your realm. You have my apologies for the near and distant future, though. If you couldn’t stand him before, you’ll hate him when he actually begins to like you.”

“Will someone please explain just what—?!”

“Knight me.” Yi Xiang did not rise from his knee, but he lifted his head to flash a wink at the stammering prince. “I’ll be damned if Boa steals all the thunder with her new title.”

“YOU ING PRICK,” echoed her voice from across the ravine, and neither the prince nor his new knight could help but laugh.

The thin sword touched both of Yi Xiang’s shoulders, bloody and battered as they were. Changmin held his breath for one second, praying with all his heart that he wasn’t making a second mistake tonight. “Rise, Gao Yi Xiang. From this day forward, you shall serve the Winter Prince and all in his dominion. Or just me,” he added uncertainly when Yi Xiang arched one elegant eyebrow. “I would not force you to protect my people, but you know…it’d be nice.”

Yi Xiang straightened his long legs, gazing at the prince in admiration. “Much obliged, Highness, but I’ll look into that matter if I ever feel like it.” He clapped and rubbed his hands together, and immediately the two rulers took a step forward, wary. “The game has been fun, my lieges. I did enjoy this most mesmerizing and exhilarating hunt. But now it is time for me to throw myself back into business. First off, take care of that clock.” He snapped his fingers; another smoke dragon appeared, this one a deep blue. It s around him, hiding him from view in seconds.

“Change it back, Yi Xiang!” Yunho yelled sternly, but the Boogeyman left the realm with his trademark echoing laugh. Sighing, the king shared an exasperated look with his prince boyfriend. “Day one of ten thousand more with him as your knight. Make sure you know what you are doing, Shim, and learn to deal with all that comes in that terribly attractive package. First day into his service with me, and I ended up in a small Icelandic village, having to modify the memories of the poor, oblivious townsfolk.”

Changmin’s mouth dropped open. “Dare I ask why?”

“Well,” Yunho frowned, entwining his fingers with the prince’s and beginning to walk towards Boa and Sally, “it’s a funny story that involves a very confused priest and a couple of pigeons…”