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Kato kept his voice light. “Look. She’s not in great shape. You really want to be the one to delay a damsel in distress? Maybe best to just let us pass, who is it…” He glanced at the guard’s coat. “Gale?”

The guard’s expression flattened. “You think I haven’t heard that one before?” His voice was laced with exhaustion. “I’ve seen every trick in the book. Unless you’ve got something better than a sob story, your damsel’s getting checked.”

Kato smiled, all sharp edges. “Listen. I don’t think you understand who you’re dealing with here.” He gestured to Taly, her pale, human face barely visible through the blankets. “I wonder how the Marquess would feel knowing his precious daughter was left to fend for herself in suchdirecircumstances.I’ll be sure to mention your name if she bleeds out before we manage to get her inside. Gale.”

The guard blinked, then scowled. “It’s his own policy. Look, I just need to—”

“Why was I not informed of their arrival?” a hard, female voice demanded.

“Oh, thank fuck,” Kato muttered.

Eula strode through the gates, bypassing the guards and the line, aiming straight for them.

“Those three,” she shouted. “Send them to me.”

The guard—eager to be rid of them—motioned them forward.

Eula looked as impeccable as ever, though the circles under her eyes had deepened. Skye didn’t know when she’d been brought up to speed, didn’t know her reaction to finding out about Taly. Only that she was here, and he was glad for it.

“Sorry to make you wait. The Marquess was here for four days straight without sleep. I sent him home a few hours ago when he nearly fell off the battlement.” Eula pulled back the blanket just enough to reveal Taly’s pale face. A tiny shadow stirred against her—Calcifer curled in the shape of a kitten. His large ears unfurled. He sniffed once, nose quivering.

Eula’s expression remained unchanged. “We’ll get beers soon, and then you both have a lot of explaining to do.” She waved them on. “Clear.”

“Hey!” a woman from the line shouted. “Why do they get to keep their dead?!”

Eula didn’t break stride. “That one’s not dead. Now, get back in line. No shoving.”

Eula led them to the gatehouse, and while Skye went in, Kato waited outside. It was a plain room—gray stone walls, graystone floor, a high ceiling. Barrels stuffed with every weapon imaginable were crammed in the corners, racks lining the perimeter.

There was a long table, and at the end of it sat Sarina.

Her hair was secured away from her face, which looked worn and weary, but her eyes lit up when she spotted them.

“There,” she said, and Skye set Taly down on the table where she pointed.

Gently, Sarina pulled back the blanket they’d wrapped around Taly to keep her warm. There was no Calcifer this time. Skye didn’t know where the little beast had gone, only that if they were lucky, he would stay there.

Sarina saw Taly’s face, the changes. She saw the delicate tips of Fey ears poking through yellow hair. She allowed herself a single moment of quiet, overjoyed wonder. Eyes watery, she pressed a hand to her mouth.

Taly was here. She was alive. And the final miracle—she was immortal. It was one thing to know but another to see it with her own eyes and finally believe. The great cleaving of their perfect little family that they’d all been dreading when her human life came to its inevitable end would no longer be there to loom over every happy moment.

Skye could read each of these thoughts on Sarina’s face and recognized the relief and joy that came with that final, happy realization.

Then she set to work. Sarina’s movements were precise but tender—a mother’s touch—as she checked Taly’s pulse (fluttering) and pressed an ear to her chest to listen to what was now nearly a complete lack of breath.

“What’s wrong with her?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” Skye answered gruffly. “We got separated. When we found her again, she was like this.”

“Get her up,” Sarina said. He moved to obey, looping an arm beneath Taly’s shoulders to lift her.

Sarina rummaged in a sack, dumping it when she couldn’t immediately find what she was looking for. Medical supplies spilled across the table. “I wasn’t sure what you might need. Your message was too vague. So, I brought a bit of everything.”

Indeed, there were rolls of linen, poultices, and potions to treat any manner of magical wound or injury.

Sarina grabbed a vial of faeflower potion, popped the cork, and tipped it into Taly’s mouth. “Come on, baby, you have to drink.”

It still felt wrong watching Taly drink faeflower. A substance so poisonous to humans, Sarina had always kept it in a locked cabinet to ensure it didn’t accidentally make it into anything Taly ate or drank.