“You’ll be fine,” Seyari insisted.

  I frowned at my reflection in the mirror. Half an hour of deliberation only to decide on no makeup, no horn adornments, and my hair left untamed down my back. “What if I’m too intimidating?”

  “You’re not putting mittens on your horns.”

  “They’re—”

  “Horn socks.” She leaned down and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek; reflection-me blushed dark crimson. “I know, I just think it sounds… strange.”

  I turned away from the mirror and stuck my tongue out. “You can vote to change the name when you get horns. Joisse likes the name so it’s staying.”

  “Oh?” she countered with a mischievous glint in her eye. “Shall I collect Sonia and Brynna’s opinions? Maybe Shyll too?”

  “They’ll agree with me,” I asserted with more confidence than I felt. When I’d told Joisse this morning, she hadn’t been stifling a ugh, right? Right?

  “We’ll see. Right now, your job is to act like your usual amicable self.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to go too?” I knew the answer already—and I knew why too.

  She sighed and tugged on my shoulders. “Do you want me to list the political reasons, or the practical reasons? Now get up.” Dhias, her teeth had gotten sharp.

  I stood, and looked down at my clothing one more time. It felt a little strange to be wearing something other than my own magic, but Seyari had allowed me this insistence. I wore a simple, warm cloak, blouse, and trousers: unfitting for an insecure noble, but ideal for approachability.

  Seyari pulled me into a tight hug, wings and all. “You’ll do great, Renna. Go be the nice mom today.”

  I took a deep breath, gave her a squeeze and pulled away. “I’ll do my best.”

  “I know you will.”

  “If that demon from this morning—the one who used to be High Priestess Sylvia—comes back—”

  “Stop”—she gave me a shove—“stalling. If she comes back into your demesne, you’ll know. And if that happens, just throw up a fre in the direction and I’ll go take care of it.”

  “And you’ll see if she’s hostile, first, right?”

  Seyari stopped shoving me, just shy of the door to our room. Her reply came after a sharp breath and a short dey. “I will, yes. But don’t get your hopes up. If she headed south into Utraxia’s demesne, she’s probably going to die.”

  “I wish I’d warned—”

  “You didn’t owe her anything, Renna. You know that.” Sey stepped in front of me and opened the door. “Now go, now. You wanted to do this for your own good and it’d be a damn shame of the one force in this world that could stop you from doing something saccharine was your own anxiety.”

  I opened my mouth, but a gust of wind stole the words from me and shoved me out into the hallway. Not a moment ter, the door was closed—not smmed, just closed.

  “I won’t judge,” Shyll’s voice said from just next to me. She had a long duster on a pole and was cleaning the corner of the ceiling. Frankly, it needed it, but I doubted that was why she was here.

  “I need to go,” I said quickly. “A-and it’s not a kink… for once! I’m having tea with Joisse’s friends and their parents.”

  Shyll shrugged. “I know. I said I wouldn’t judge.”

  “Could you stop eavesdropping at least?”

  “You’re loud, so no. Ward the room if you care.”

  I opened my mouth, felt the heat of a blush, closed it, and walked away. At the ground floor, I met Taava walking down the hall with another pole.

  “Oh hey, Boss! You know, I gotta say, this whole ‘py at bein’ a maid for steady pay and good food’ bit’s workin’ out a lot better now that we’ve got food again. Ya goin’ somewhere…” she looked me up and down. “Bnd? Ya look like ya stepped right out of a background scene in a stage py.”

  “In a good way?” I caught myself and looked up at her duster. “Never mind, and Shyll’s already doing the top floor hall.”

  Taava blinked. “Yeah, I know. This is the bottom floor, Boss.”

  “...Right. Do you two get along now, or…?”

  “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

  “I…”

  She leaned forward with a conspiratorial smile, ears ft. “Ya wanna talk?”

  “No, it’s just that I’m scared I’ll scare the humans.”

  “The humans, huh?” Taava snorted.

  I didn’t even know if all of them were human. “No, I mean the mort—I mean—”

  Taava ughed and cpped me on the side of an arm. “I’m just messin’ with ya, Boss. Or am I? Anyway, anyone scared by ya’s not gonna stay scared once ya open your mouth.”

  “Are you sure? I mean, I know I’ve been more… imperious tely, so I guess I’m just worried.” I smiled bashfully.

  “Juuust don’t show those teeth on the first meetin’.”

  I quickly stopped smiling. “Right.”

  “Sooo… who’re ya meetin’ dressed like that?”

  I was about to make up an excuse, but Shyll had probably been eavesdropping ever since I’d gotten back from meeting with… Sylvia is probably best to call her. And seeing my daughter for the first time in (too many) days.

  “I’m meeting with Joisse’s friends and parents.”

  She grinned. “You’ll do great then!”

  “Are you certain?”

  Taava blinked. “No, but nothin’s ever certain. Except time and I’ve got a strong feelin’ you’re stallin’ with me right now.” She poked me with the duster. “So go. I’ve got work ta do.”

  I mumbled “right” again and left. The outside air of the courtyard was crisp and refreshing compared to the air inside the castle. My demesne cut just enough of the edge off to keep it comfortable. For me at least, and what I hoped was comfortable for the… non-demons. So far I’d heard as much through rumors.

  I still need to figure out how to tell everyone about my demesne.

  Another deep breath. Later. For the next few hours, before the messenger from the king got here officially, before the Church and Berethiel tried to kill me, before Envy or Avarice tried to kill me, before I had to worry about elves or cecaelia or maybe even dwarves, who knows… before any of that, I was a mom.

  It was a warm thought, and feeling. And it carried me all the way through town to the house I’d been described, voices inside leaking out into the street. Sure, I could’ve moved through my demesne and appeared there in a puff of crimson fire.

  Except I was trying to be at least a little normal.

  I reached one cwed hand out to the door and rapped twice. Out not up—the door was shorter than I was.

  The voices stopped, there was a rush of footsteps, and a young woman I didn’t recognize yanked the door open. She was on the taller side, with messily cut bck hair and mischievous green eyes. And probably about Joisse’s age—or at least what I presumed Joisse’s age to be.

  For a moment, I had the heart-clenching thought that I’d gotten the wrong house and would have to expin why I was on their doorstep and—

  “Come on—Marchioness!?”

  I looked down at the door that’d been yanked open, one hand still raised.

  The conversation in the room stopped, not abruptly, but petering out into whispers I probably wasn’t supposed to hear. No anger, though, just surprise. And maybe a little wonder?

  I realized I was just standing in the doorway, so I offered one of my lower hands, cws dulled.

  “I’m Zarenna, Joisse’s mom.” Smile. No teeth.

  The girl stared at it for a moment. “Verrka. You’re… the marchioness, right?”

  I nodded. “Yes, but right now I’m just here as Joisse’s mom.”

  “Oh..” She furrowed her brow and bit her lower lip and reached out. Then she seemed to reach a decision and shook my hand with a nod. “Okay! That works! Come on in then Zarenna, Joisse’s mom.” She practically pulled me inside, and I moved my tail to close the door.

  Unfortunately, I didn’t think to duck and my horns thudded into the doorframe. Verrka’s eyes went wide like she’d made some faux pas, but I ughed it off.

  “I swear, it’s the doors that’re too short.” I looked back at the two solid dents. “I can get someone out here to fix that if you’d like.”

  “No need,” someone else answered. “Your daughter saved my husband’s life—a dented doorframe’s no problem.”

  “And it makes for a good story!” someone I assumed was the voice’s husband answered. “No one at the sawmill’s gonna believe me.”

  Accident or on purpose, I had to admit the clumsy entrance always broke the ice. Hard to be afraid of your nightmare when you watch them trip over their own feet.

  Now that I could get a look inside, I saw the two speakers: husband and wife, Verrka’s parents if I had to guess from their simirities. They were looking at me with more than a hint of fear, but hiding it well. I couldn’t help but think of how just a week ago, the town was under siege.

  Were we all just getting used to that sort of thing?

  I looked around instead of getting lost in my thoughts. Their home was cozy, warm, and so immediately lived in that I ached for something simir of my own. A roaring hearth stood as backdrop to Verrka’s parents sitting by the hearth and a group of teenagers at a table by the kitchen and stairs pying some kind of game, pieces strewn about the table. One of them was clearly demon-blooded, sporting crimson skin, small horns, and a thin tail wrapped around the leg of the chair she was sitting in. The other was a beanpole of a young man, and he was the only one in the room staring wide-eyed at me.

  Amongst them, my daughter somehow both stuck out and blended in perfectly. She wasn’t in her human form, and her tail tip flicked nervously as she looked between the world that had been hers alone, and me. I wanted to rush over and hug her, but I waved instead. Joisse smiled awkwardly and waved back. Sorry for embarrassing you in front of your friends!

  “Hey Joisse,” Verrka started, walking over to the group, “you wanna tell us why you didn’t tell us your mom’s the marchioness just like you didn’t tell us you were a demon?”

  “What?” Joisse responded.

  “Your mom’s the marchioness.”

  Joisse nodded.

  “And you didn’t tell us!”

  “I wanted to!” She wrung two hands together “I just… it never came up?”

  “What about all the times we asked?” the boy replied, shaking his head and looking back down at the board. “Hey! You moved my piece!”

  “Nope,” the demon-blooded girl replied. “You were there st turn.”

  “No, I ended over here because…”

  I covered a ugh with one hand and walked over to probably-Verrka’s parents. “Mister and Missus…?”

  They gave me their names and I sat down next to them by the hearth. The chair groaned, but not dangerously, and I slipped my tail through the back.

  “My daughter saved your life?” I asked Verrka’s father.

  He nodded. “In the st attack. There was a group of us in the sawmill. We… well I don’t want to be morbid. I made it out, and your daughter made sure I stayed in one piece after. She saved Tyra’s life, too, though I guess she got a bit more of the magic than I did.”

  “I like you without horns, dear. No offense.” Verrka’s mom smiled. “And thank you. Truly. She saved our Verrka and her friend Zeke too.”

  Tyra. Zeke. I put faces to the names.

  I chuckled. “None taken. And you said Tyra got more magic?” I looked over, but the four of them were deep into the game and hadn’t noticed we were talking about them.

  He nodded. “She wasn’t demon-blooded before.”

  “Oh.” I leaned in to whisper. “I know you’re not her parents, but how does she seem to be taking it?”

  “I think she’s—”

  “She’s good at hiding it,” Verrka’s mom cut in. “But I think she’s struggling. She only used to come by once a week or so, and now she practically lives here. And I think she’s stressing Zeke out too.”

  “How long ago?”

  “Almost two weeks, but I don’t count the siege, so one week. Still.”

  “Hmm. How about you have the lot of them come by the castle sometime? Do you know that new construction going on outside?”

  “It’s some kind of guild hall or church chapter building,” Verrka’s father answered immediately. “I cut some of the lumber for it. Big order, so I imagine it’s something big? I’ve seen the Dhias symbol over there when I went to deliver.”

  “It’s… adjacent, but not part of the church,” I answered. “At least I don’t think so. There’s a demon-blooded priestess of Dhias heading it, along with her padin friend and a former Gelles company mercenary.” I almost stumbled over the word “friend” but just because I had a strong feeling Sonia and Inva were more than friends didn’t mean I should just assume. “Her name’s Sonia Rozaro—you might have seen her around town. Red skin, tall horns. She’s my friend’s daughter, and I trust her deeply; she might be able to help.”

  “We’ll make sure there’s a day when we need them out of the house for cleaning,” Sonia’s mom answered. “What time would be best—I know they’re busy with the construction?”

  “Morning. Earlier the better.”

  The husband ughed. “We’ll see what we can do.”

  “Great! If you don’t mind, I have a few questions about my daughter. I assume she’s been behaving herself, but I just want to hear what she and her friends have been up to.” I looked over at the table. “And I don’t want to go interrupt them to ask.”

  “Well for one she’s a card shark,” Verrka’s mom replied. “I’ve caught her teaching our daughter how to cheat.”

  I opened my mouth but Verrka’s father continued, “We’re not mad! We know our Verrka and she was already trying that kind of stuff since she was little. Best she learns from a friend who knows right and wrong.”

  “That’s a relief.” I ughed. “One of my friends must have taught her. Cards at the castle barely involves the deck these days. One of my maids compins that she keeps finding them everywhere. And another keeps gloating about where she’s hiding them.”

  At the mention of maids, both of them stiffened a little.

  “One’s a friend who volunteered for the job so she can eavesdrop and poke fun at me. And the other’s a friend’s daughter who I’m pretty sure is here to learn some humility.”

  If my words mollified them, it wasn’t by a lot. So I quickly steered the topic away to recent events, and we spent the next while chatting about Astrye. Frankly, I learned a lot—always do when I talk to the people who are in the thick of things.

  Moreso since the pair grew more comfortable around me as the morning waned to afternoon. It was when I was helping them start dinner that someone knocked on the door.

  This time, Verrka’s father answered it. I could hear Shyll’s voice on the other side and my heart sank in the middle of slicing potatoes. With a knife! Cws weren’t the right shape for the cuts and reminding Verrka’s parents of them probably wasn’t a great call. Though the fact I was using all four of my arms to work probably did that anyway.

  Sure enough, I found myself at the door, hands still dripping.

  “What?” I practically hissed.

  “King’s messenger’s here,” Shyll answered. “Looks like he ran himself half to death. Keeps babblin’ about some standoff in Linthel, some kinda Church decration, and king’s guard in the pass. You’re probably gonna wanna talk to him and get flyin’ north.”

  I blinked. “Are you adopting Taava’s speech pattern?”

  She shrugged. “It ticks her off, so yeah. Problem is that it kinda… sticks. So I guess the joke’s on me. Anyhow, we need ya… eh-hem. Anyway, your presence is required back at the castle.”

  I looked over my shoulder at the lovely home scene behind me, imagining the lovely smell of dinner that would soon be suffusing the room. Mind made up, I turned back to Shyll. Just one evening. “Have Sey see him for me. Dinner’s on soon, and I’m going to be learning how to py a board game that Joisse likes. She’s even going to help me pick what css to py, whatever that means.”

  “Are you certain? He insists he’s delivering the will of the king and must see you.”

  I showed teeth. “Then he’s going to have to learn all the proper rites for summoning a demon. I’ll return by midnight. And before you compin, remember that I don’t need to sleep.”

  Shyll chittered. “You don’t have to tell me twice to fly in the face of authority.”

  “I’m not giving you permission to.”

  She waved the half-threat off. “I know that, I know that. I still remember your threat. You can be real scary when you want to. All the—”

  “Shyll, not now. I’m none of that tonight.”

  She sighed. “Fine. Mom gets like this too. I’m certain Seyari will be able to handle it. Enjoy your evening, Sovereign.” With a nod, she took off… running. Still in her maid uniform that I absolutely did not require her to wear.

  Before I went back inside to cozy warmth and bonding, I took a look up at the moon faint in the afternoon sky. Soon, I’d be off to Linthel, then one battle after another. Whatever it took, I’d fight for moments like this.

  MadMaxine