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Kato continued to flip through the grimoire. He couldn’t help but notice a recurring theme. While there were a few outliers—such as a blueprint for a self-cleaning cauldron and a set of enchanted lockpicks—most of her more recent inventions centered primarily on making things goboom. From explosive charges to compact grenades that unleashed torrents of magical fire, her creations demonstrated a distinct preference for pyrotechnics and destruction.

There were problems with most of them. He could tell which ideas she’d abandoned to move on. But there was one entry that caught his attention.

Kato pointed to the page. “This. Did you come up with this?”

“It’s in my journal.”

“I mean it, Taly, this has promise.”

At the top of the page were the words “Reactive Detonation Matrix.” Followed immediately by “working title” scribbled in a smaller script beside it. His mind was racing with all the possibilities of how to stabilize the elemental flux, ensure compatibility with various magical energies, and safely harness the explosive potential.

Taly jumped from the top of the ladder. Her boots smacked the ground. When she was close enough to see which page he was making such a fuss over, she gave him another one of those grins he found so fascinating.

“I liked that one too,” she said. “If nothing else, it would put to use all those shadow crystals we keep picking off shades.”

“Why haven’t you built it?”

“Because I needed a shadow mage, and Skye refused.‘For the good of the city.’” She rolled her eyes.

Kato scoffed. “Figures. He never did have any imagination.”

“Which is what I said.”

Their eyes met. “I could help you,” he offered.

“Why?”

“Because this is what I do. I take things off the page, and I make them work.”

“In your family’s factories?”

“Well, in their R&D laboratories.” Kato had apprenticed in nearly every department of the company before deciding on his niche. When he was still the heir, his training had been thorough. He’d spent the first 150 years of his life learning the family business inside and out.

“Okay,” she said with barely half a moment to consider.

Kato blinked. “Sorry, I was expecting a little more pushback.”

Taly shrugged. “Oh, make no mistake, I still don’t trust you, and I don’t get your angle. I just want to see my baby brought to life, and you’re offering to help me do that.”

“Mercenary. I respect that.”

“Good.” She flashed him another grin, and Kato felt his lips curving to match it, quickly rationalizing it as the simple excitement of meeting a fellow curious soul. This was his brother’s mate. Even if he hadn’t known it already, the smell gave it away. She reeked of him, and not just in the usual way.There was an extra layer to the scent, an added depth that marked her unequivocally as “taken” with a hint of “hands off.”

Someone shouted Taly’s name from the townhouse, and she groaned at the sound of it. “I knew it couldn’t last forever.”

“What?”

She gestured up and down her body with a sweep of her hand. “Can’t exactly wear this to Kalahad’s dinner tonight. I have to go start getting dressed.”

Shards, he’d almost managed to forget. Needless to say, he wasn’t looking forward to tonight’s dinner. Best case scenario, he’d be seatedfardown the table, where he wouldn’t have to look Kal in the eye and try to figure out whether he’d been played. Again.

“It’s not even 2bells,” Kato pointed out.

“I know,” she said, tossing her goggles on the bench. “I swear, all men have to do is put on a clean shirt and comb their hair. It’s not fair.” She pointed to the armor, still on the chassis in a state of disarray. “He’ll be reassembled for you by tomorrow. I promise.”

“Take your time,” Kato said, unable to muster any of his earlier annoyance. As she walked off to answer the summons, he settled into a chair, grabbed the grimoire, and pulled it to him.

Taly arrived at Harbor Manor like a sunbeam. Suddenly, laughter echoed through the halls, and her curious spirit breathed life into even the most forgotten, dusty corners.