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“Nothing,” Kato said, chuckling. “Absolutely nothing.” He pointed at Taly. “Drink?”

“Many,” she answered as Skye took her coat. When he leaned in to kiss her cheek, his hand flattened against the exaggerated curve of the bodice.

“You wore this to torture me, didn’t you?” he whispered as fragmented images appeared in her mind’s eye.

Corset strings popping… Ripping away the rest of those buttons… His fingers stroking the smooth skin between her breasts…

She had to take a breath to settle the flutter in her heart and the ache blooming lower—and then she quietly shut that door that had opened between their minds.

There was no point lingering. The bond would have to be broken eventually. That much hadn’t changed, even if everything was out in the open now.

Skye trailed after Kato toward the bar.

“Shut up,” Taly muttered when Aimee began to chuckle softly. “We’ve already established you were right about the clothes, so just… shut up.”

Aiden eventually managed to pry himself away from Rox, and soon after, the food began pouring out. The long table quickly filled up with bowls of steaming broth, plates piled high with thick noodles, pickled vegetables, and fried dumplings for dipping. With the new rationing system, there might not have been much variety, but what they did have, they had in spades.

Kato slid onto the bench, balancing a tray of glasses filled with clear liquor. “Hey, I told the bartender that you were the Savior, and he gave us free drinks.”

Taly’s gaze snapped to him. “Why would you do that?”

“Sorry,” Skye said, sliding in beside her. He gave her an apologetic look. “He was alone for ten seconds and managed to tell half the bar.”

Heads were already turning their way as the news began to spread.

The Savior of Ebondrift was here. The girl from the relay—she was alive.

They weren’t looking at her friends anymore. They were looking ather. She was no longer invisible. A spotlight had snapped on directly above.

Skye placed a drink into her hand—something amber, fizzing faintly at the top. “Breathe,” he said quietly. “You’re fine.”

Taly tried. She really did. But there were eyes everywhere. Every time her gaze met another, it flinched away.

The attention made her vision ripple at the edges, like heat off pavement. Premonitions crashed over each other, gold on gold, overlapping in a restless tangle.

“Don’t worry,” Skye said, nudging her. His tone was casual, but he was watching her closely. “If the glamour flickers, we cantell everyone aboutthat horde of shades you fought off single-handedly and how it left you with some gruesome scars.”

Did he really have to raise his voice for that?!

“I’m sure it’ll make you even more famous,” he added with a grin.

Instantly, the story caught on and swept the room. Damn Fey and their hearing. Skye only laughed harder when she elbowed him.

Apparently, everyone had decided the glamour was working. Though, even if it flickered at this point, Skye had already given them something else to believe.

Then Taly made a mistake. She sipped the ale. “Oh my Shards, that’s awful.”

While she was still recovering from the taste—something between burnt barley and swamp water—Kato went on, “Face it, Taly. You’re a celebrity. And if people want to buy their Savior a drink—and maybe a few for her friends—then I say, who are we to stop them.” He plunked the last glass down in front of Aimee. “Sorry, princess, but they didn’t have anything pink.”

Aimee picked the fruit from the rim. Even though she was looking up at him, she still somehow managed to peer down her nose. “Sounds like you didn’t try hard enough.”

Taly exhaled slowly. She could do this. Just sit, just exist. Like anyone else.

This was, after all, the warm-up. A test run. A chance to get it right before the real pressure set in.

Admiration made people generous. It softened their gaze, let them overlook what didn’t quite fit. At Kalahad’s party, there would be no such mercy. Every glance would be measured, every move subject to scrutiny.

Around her, conversation carried on as if nothing had changed. Skye passed her a serving spoon, and she realized everyone had already begun piling their bowls with noodles.