Originally, this book was the prequel to a series of 7 books, the rough drafts of which I will happily bury and disallow from reaching the light of day, except in small pieces. And importantly, in that series, when Thairn shows up, he and Illa are not together in any way except the unwanted arranged marriage, and Illa is not at all comfortable with his presence.
Well, I started on this prequel, and they had such a good rapport, I could clearly see that the only way to get it to fit the series was to have a sad ending.
But then I went through so much anti-queer shit and saw too many stories about queer relationships come out with either entirely awful endings or "happy" endings that weren't at all happy. So I said fuck it, and let the characters do as they would.
Anyway, the original series is no longer the fate of
this series. The new version of Thairn has changed the game. Mickey fucking Morley has changed the game. And I like the new series better.
But here, nonetheless, I'll give you what I originally had sketched out for the ending:
( Mickey opened the hotel suite door... )
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