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Taly sighed as the bartender muttered an apology and scrambled to refill their glasses. She’d been enjoying thetemporary bubble of invisibility. Fey were horrible with human faces. Most forgot what she looked like the moment she left the table.

She turned to Aimee. “Was that necessary?”

“Yes,” Aimee said, taking one of the shots of liquor the bartender placed in front of them,on the house. “The attention makes you uncomfortable, and I find that quite fun.”

Taly reached for her own glass and lifted it in a toast. She could respect that. “You know, Aimee, you’re not half-bad once you remove that stick from your ass.”

“And I like you better once I’ve had a few of these.” Aimee clicked her glass to Taly’s, and, tipping their heads back, they downed them, shuddering at the Shards-awful taste.

“Yeah, that’s not getting any better,” Taly croaked, turning the empty glass over on the bar.

Aimee gave her an expectant look. “So?” she asked with a glance at their table. AtSkye.

“So… what?” Taly asked, feigning ignorance.

“You and Skylen?”

“What about him?”

Aimee rolled her eyes. “You know what my brother always told me?”

“No, but I have a feeling you’re about to tell me.”

“He always said that if I wanted to marry Skylen, I’d have to marry you too.”

Taly sighed. “This is what I was afraid of. We manage to go one day without trying to maim each other, and you’re already proposing marriage.”

Aimee reached for one of the two glasses the bartender placed in front of them, purchased by a group of Lowborns at the other end of the bar. “So, what’s it like?” she asked.

“What’s what like?”

“You know. Thesex. I’ve only been with one shadow mage, but it was…” She smiled. “… an experience.”

Taly downed her glass, grimacing when it was immediately replaced. Another drink bought by that same group. And maybe it was the alcohol making her honest. Otherwise, she never would’ve confessed, “I wouldn’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know? What was that I walked in on earlier?”

Taly shrugged. “An attempt? We haven’t exactly been able to, you know…”

“No, I don’t know. I have a terrible imagination. You’re going to have to paint me a picture.” Aimee slid a bar napkin towards her as if that was precisely what she expected.

Taly craned her head. What the hell was taking that bartender so long? All she’d ordered was a few more pitchers of beer.

“So, wait,” Aimee said, words slurring a bit. “Are you seriously telling me that during all that time he wouldn’t get into bed with me, it wasn’t because he was already in bed with you?”

“Uh… yeah?”

Aimee squinted. “How does that make sense?”

“I think maybe he just didn’t likeyou, Aimee. You’re kind of a lot.”

“Huh,” was all she said, like it wasn’t the worst thing. In fact, losing to herself rather than Taly almost seemed to make it more palatable. Aimee raised her voice to be heard over the din of the bar, “There’s something I wanted to ask you.”

“I’m not going to marry you,” Taly said. “It’ll never work out.”

Aimee frowned. “Your loss. I would make an excellent wife. But that’s not what I meant. This morning, you offered to help me with my magic. I was wondering if the offer still stands.”

Taly’s brows flicked up. Today was Aimee’s day to surprise her, it seemed.