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“Yeah… too bad.” Taly’s eyes dropped to the shadows pooling at her feet, dark enough for two. “How’s it coming back there, Calcifer?”

The collar slipped off and clattered to the floor.

The girl cursed and hopped off the bar—

But Taly was already moving, already out of the chair as warmth and strength flooded back in.

One tug and the ropes fell away. Just like she’d said.

A familiar weight settled in her hand.

Since coming back from the loop, Taly always kept a spare pistol tucked between the threads of the Weave—inside a sliver of space she could access in a heartbeat.

The instant her fingers curled around the grip, she yanked it into reality—

And took aim.

The girl skidded to a halt, eyes going wide when she came face-to-face with the end of Taly’s pistol.

The girl’s face was a mask of righteous fury—but her hands went up.

Taly grinned. “Guess you didn’t fleece me well enough,” she said in answer to the unspoken question. “Next time you come for me, make sure to find the mimic before you start gloating.”

Tiny claws pricked Taly’s skin through her shirt as a dark shape scurried up her shoulder. From the way Calcifer screeched and chittered, he wasn’t happy about being made to wait so long.

It was one of the rules they’d set before coming back to the real world. If, at any point, Calcifer didn’t know what to do, he was to hide in her shadow.

“I’m sorry,” Taly cooed to the irate little mouse, stroking the soft fur behind his oversized ears.

The girl looked nothing short of bewildered when Calcifer turned to her, shaking a tiny paw.

“He’s never seen a child before,” Taly explained to her.

“He wasn’t sure whether or not he was allowed to kill you.

” Calcifer harumphed. “Yes, yes, next time we will discuss what to do if I’m unexpectedly rendered unconscious and unable to give the signal to come out.

It was poor planning on my part. I apologize. ”

That seemed to mollify him a bit, and he jumped from her shoulder.

The mimic grew.

Shadows poured from nowhere, from between the threads of the Weave, adding to his density as he swelled and solidified.

He landed heavily, fully transformed—now tall enough that his head grazed Taly’s shoulder.

Great, leathery wings stretched wide, tufted along the upper edge with black and gold dusted feathers.

Calcifer roared. The girl flinched, instinct telling her to run, good sense locking her body in place as the force of that mighty blast of sound and breath blew back her hair.

First rule of the forest: stand your ground. Never give a wild animal something to chase.

And Calcifer did look a little wild, Taly supposed. Maybe even dangerous, even if to her, he would always be that little ball of black fuzz small enough to fit in a teacup.

Taly wiped the lipstick off her mouth with the back of her hand. “Where’s my gear?”

The girl stammered, “Be-behind the bar.”

Taly gestured with her pistol. “Go get it.”

The girl obeyed, dumping a rifled-through pile at her feet.

After a few moments of searching, Taly cut free a tracking crystal sewn into the lining of her coat.

She crushed it beneath her heel.

“Gonna give me a name now, kid?”

The girl sneered. Calcifer’s teeth flashed, and her eyes immediately dropped.

“Luck,” she whispered rigidly.

“And your real name?”

“I don’t remember.”

Taly felt a pang of empathy from a wound that still ached even after all this time. She knew what it was like to not remember, to have gaps in your life that were just… missing.

“Well, Luck ,” she said, slipping a thin blade back up her sleeve before fastening the cuff. “As much as I appreciate the hospitality, I’m afraid I really must be going.”

Sure, she could’ve needled the girl for more information—the full who, what, where, why—but some gut instinct was screaming at her to get out now before whoever had hired this murderous little psychopath showed up.

Nothing about this situation felt right.

Not the girl, not the finely laid table for two, and not her dining partner, who still hadn’t moved.

The whole scene presented like a deranged child’s tea party.

Taly glanced at the table and the man slumped there. She pressed two fingers to his neck, unsurprised when she didn’t find a pulse. “What’s his story, by the way?”

Luck remained silent, glowering through the rage and shame that burned her face.

“Okay, whatever.” It wasn’t worth sticking around to find out. Taly finished strapping on her gear. “Don’t follow me. If I catch even a whiff of your scent, I’ll shoot you in the kneecaps.”

Luck snorted. “Bullshit. You’re too soft.”

“Follow me, and we’ll find out,” was all Taly said, hauling on her pack as she strode for the door, Calcifer trotting just behind.

“You may go if you like,” a new voice drawled.

Taly stopped.

“This meeting, however, stands to benefit us both. If you’ll allow it.” Masculine and calm, the words slid over her like oil.

Calcifer gave a soft snarl, but Taly signaled for him to hold.

Slowly, she turned. Luck met her eyes, smirking.

Because beside the girl, the man was sitting up now. And he was smiling.