Ronan looked to be experiencing some kind of system overload, and Gansey made a mental note to pace himself more with the big news. It was another reason Ronan couldn't know about Aurora.

"Piper is his wife. Was his wife." They'd both fallen victim to the same demon Ronan nearly did. The difference was, Gansey felt no guilt about them. Which, in turn, created a bit of guilt on its own.

"Ronan, listen to me: you were dying. There was no sleeping king with a favor." But there was a boy who'd been promised death. Unavoidable, he'd thought, and Ronan's death had been quite avoidable. Gansey would do it again. There would be no hesitation. He would not apologize for that.