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“I’m not going to stop scrying. That is the end of this discussion.”

With that, she grabbed her glamour from the desk and pivoted. Calcifer followed close behind, his ears flat against his head as she strode for the door to the apartment.

Taly fastened the glamour around her wrist. It would hide the sickly pallor of her skin. The last thing she needed was for everyone around here to go back to treating her like she was made of glass.

She slapped her cheeks to shake off the fatigue.Get your shit together.Next time, she would be ready. She would build her walls higher, stronger. Of all the monsters, grimbles were the most hideous. Living, breathing nightmares. But she’d survived the worst.

Now, it could only get better.

Taly took a breath. See? She already felt lighter.

Sarina and Ivain were at the breakfast table when Taly shoved open the door. Skye was right behind her, slamming a hand into the wood as it swung back into his face.

“Hello baby,” Sarina cooed, smiling down at Calcifer as he laid his head in her lap. “Oh dear,” she said when she saw the twin scowls that entered the room. “Don’t tell me the honeymoon is already over. With all the bumps and bangs coming from upstairs at all hours, I was hoping to have at least one grandchild by the year’s end.”

Ivain sighed, hair mussed and sticking out in odd directions, one hand gripping his mug like it was a lifeline. “I’d almost forgotten what it was like to wake up to the sound of arguing.”

Taly ignored them, aiming for the sideboard, where breakfast and salvation in the form of coffee sat waiting.

“Oh, Taly, you made the paper this morning.” Sarina picked up the newspaper from the middle of the table, folding it tothe correct page. “There,” she said, tapping her finger. “Minor tremor disrupts local neighborhood.”

Taly paused to scan the few lines of text. “I caused an earthquake?”

“Of course, she caused a fucking earthquake,” Skye muttered.

“Oh, calm down,” Sarina said. “Earthquakes are common during Solnar. It’s no harm done.”

Taly narrowed her eyes. Something was off. Sarina was in a suspiciously good mood. And Ivain, while he was never in a good mood this early in the morning, even he looked relaxed.

“What’s going on here?” she asked, looking between them. “Shouldn’t you two be smothering me with concern right now? Seriously, what’s wrong with you? Are you on drugs? Can I have some?”

Ivain snorted, rubbing his eyes. “Do you really think that was our first time dealing with a time mage coming out of chrono-stasis?”

“Tess had a safe room. Padded walls,” Sarina added, sipping her tea.

Skye’s jaw clenched, eyes flashing. “You both knew about this?”

“About Weave beasts?” Ivain took a bite of biscuit. “Of course. Though I figured they’d all gone extinct without a reliable food source.”

“Or into hibernation,” Sarina murmured, smoothing her palm down the curve of Calcifer’s head. His ears slicked back with the motion, a low rumble stirring in his chest. “Oh, Taly, wait. Drink this before coffee. It works better on an empty stomach.”

Taly paused mid-pour. Sarina pushed a glass filled with something frothy and white across the table.

Faeflower tonic. Extra slimy. Taly took a sip and cringed. “Oh my Shards… why is it so thick?”

“Oh, that would be the egg.”

“Why are you making me drink an egg, Sarina?”

“That was my idea, actually,” Ivain piped up. “That there is your great-grandmother’s chrono-stasis hangover cure. Tess swore by it.”

Taly eyed the glass warily. Ivain motioned for her to chug it.

She did. Barely. Clamping a hand over her mouth, she fought the urge to vomit.

“Why is no one taking this seriously?” Skye demanded.

“Who said we weren’t?” Sarina asked.