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“It does seem… loyal,” Skye said grudgingly. She flashed him a grateful smile, but he just shrugged. “What? It’s smart enough to have figured out not to kill off its only food source. That’s not necessarily a point in its favor.”

Ivain sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m remembering what it was like living with time mages.”

“Never a dull moment,” Sarina murmured. They shared a look. She smiled. “Our daughter tamed a mimic. Not even Tess managed to pull that off.”

Ivain chuckled. “No doubt she would’ve made it her life’s mission if she knew it was possible.”

Sarina did two things next.

First, she crossed the room and engulfed Taly in a tight, bone-crushing hug. “You’re remarkable,” she whispered against her hair.

Taly’s ribs ached, but she endured it, pressing her face into Sarina’s shoulder and breathing her in.

Second, after Sarina pulled away, she held out her hands. “May I?” Then, gently, she pulled Calcifer off Taly’s head, cooing,“Well, aren’t you the cutest little thing?” Calcifer’s chest puffed out. “Oh, tell me we can keep him, Ivain. Taly’s Fey now. The little beast would need to go to a lot of trouble to do any real damage.”

Skye said, “I’d actually like to see the section of the presentation on safety measures.”

Taly tossed him the projector. Presentation was over. She’d won. He could look over the research himself.

Ivain stepped forward, more cautiously than Sarina. He glanced at the ceiling where Calcifer had appeared. “Where did he come from?”

“Just now?” Taly said. “The In Between. Though if you’re asking where hecamefrom, that I’m not too sure about. I found him as a hatchling.”

“How old is he? What tricks does he know?” Sarina’s eyes widened. “I’m going to teach him how to breathe fire.”

Calcifer’s tail wiggled, the little tuft on the end out of sync with the rest. That’s how Taly knew when he was really, truly, and absolutely delighted. She said to Sarina, smiling, “He likes that idea.”

Ivain held out a hand for Calcifer to sniff, then lick. He immediately sneezed at the aether on his skin.

“I don’t think you taste as good,” Taly said.

“No, I suppose I don’t.” Ivain huffed a quiet laugh, still bewildered but coming around to the idea of an Eldritch as a pet as he scratched beneath Calcifer’s chin. “He must not be too fond of Skye either.”

“Oh my Shards, you have no idea. It was hate at first sight. Calcifer refuses to leave me alone with him. We’ve barely been able to escape long enough to—” Taly stopped herself, realizing that she was about to go intofartoo much detail.

But Ivain’s smile had an edge of awareness that was hard to miss. So did Sarina’s.

Taly looked to Skye for help but he’d retreated into the other room.Like a coward. “Can we, uh, just skate past that?”

They both shook their heads, grinning like devils. Ivain said, “It sounded to me like you were about to say that you finally put that poor boy out of his misery. And a good thing too. He’s so in love he can’t tell up from down anymore.”

“I heard that, old man,” Skye called from the room.

Ivain called back, “I was beginning to genuinely worry for you, my boy.”

“Oh, look at that smile,” Sarina drawled merrily.

Taly wasn’t—smiling. At least she tried not to. “I guess we were the only ones that didn’t see that coming, huh?”

“You were testing the limits of my faith in your intellect,” Ivain said mildly, one corner of his mouth twitching. “Just so you know, you have our full support. And while I understand young love leads to the occasional fit of unbridled passion, try to keep it behind closed doors. Just because I know it’s happening doesn’t mean I want to see it.”

To the Fey, there was no shame in sex. It was a natural urge to be indulged and satisfied and a necessary means to bolster their flagging population. Taly must have retained some of her human sensibilities, however, considering that at that moment, she wished for nothing more than the floor to open up and swallow her whole.

And they sensed it, like blood in the water. Parents were worse than sharks.

“You do understand the mechanics?” Sarina asked. Even Calcifer, cradled in her arms, had a sly look in his eye. “I must admit, I may have been a touch lax in your education. Oh, my dear, there’s so much more I can teach you now without the constant fear of teen pregnancy looming over our heads.”

“The trick,” Ivain said, wrapping an arm around Taly’s shoulder, “is to make him wait for it. I mean,reallydrag it out.From desperation springs obedience. I know how much you like to be in charge.”