“Oh yes, here I am! And look at you—your face! It’s perfect. Did you miss me?”

Nyve’s voice spilled out like laughter as she emerged from the eye, first a twinkle of light, then a ribbon of shifting color that rose to meet Callahan’s face.

“I must admit, it was a bit rude of you to leave without even asking if maybe I wanted to come!”

Callahan wasn’t sure if he could trust his eyes. “Damn… so you were real.”

He wasn’t convinced either way before, not entirely. That place—whatever it was—felt too real, but he’d been hoping it and its residents would stay put.

“Of course I’m real!” Nyve beamed, spinning in the air. “I’ve been real for longer than you’ve been alive! Longer than your mother, and her mother, and her mother, and her mother—”

She kept going, oblivious to the looming shadow behind her.

“—and her mother, and her mother, and OI!”

Nyve yelped as Rowan caught her mid-sentence, his calloused fingers clamping around her tiny form. His grip was stronger than Callahan’s had ever been, and Nyve’s breath hitched under the pressure.

“Oooh, Rowan! In the flesh! I was right, Callahan, hands of hammers, this one.”

She wiggled, gasping but still entirely amused.

“Lovely beard, though, I must say—I appreciate the hue!”

Rowan’s eyes sparkled like a child seeing magic for the first time. Then, he looked down at the eye in Callahan’s hand, picked it up, and compared Nyve to its size. His eyes shot from Nyve to the eye, then back to Nyve.

"Admiring me, are ya? Well, I can’t fault ya for it, really. I am the most beautiful fairy in all of Gwyndadoraoralaeolye."

"Cal." Rowan’s voice was hushed, like he’d just made the discovery of the century.

"I can’t believe this." Callahan braced himself.

Rowan and Nyve in the same room. His nightmare was coming true.

"There has got to be a market for this," Rowan continued. "A jeweled eye that houses a fairy? Can you believe that?! I thought Ma was just spinnin’ tales! But this—this is a real damn fairy!"

Callahan and Nyve both stared at him. Absolutely dumbfounded.

"Hold on a minute." Callahan frowned. "Just a second ago, you didn’t even believe me. And now—what? You think someone would buy a fairy?"

"EVERYBODY would want to buy me!" Nyve chimed in.

Then she paused.

"Wait—you were gonna sell Lughren’s Eye?!"

"Well, she’s rare, obviously," Rowan explained, gesturing at Nyve like she was a prize mare. "Ma didn’t get those fairy tales from nowhere, so there’s probably buyers out there. And the eye—it’s gorgeous, fine metal, precious jewel. Of course we were gonna sell it!"

He walked over to the table Callahan had been sitting at and set the eye down, wedging it into a loop of his armor so it wouldn’t roll away. Then, he picked up an empty bottle of ale.

"Well, little fairy," he said, grinning, "here you go—a nice little room for you till we find a buyer."

"HEY, YOU BLOODY OAF, DON’T YOU DARE—"

Nyve’s words cut off as Rowan shoved her straight into the bottle and jammed a cork into the top. There was A brief moment of muffled screaming. Callahan watched as his brother tapped the bottle with a finger, smirking as Nyve punched back with all her might in retaliation. Her tiny fists barely made a sound against the glass. Rowan giggled like a child at the futility of her escape. The words Nyve was shouting—Callahan could never hope to recognize them. Ancient curse words, for sure. A small part of him enjoyed the sight. Nyve, for once, had met her match. An oblivious jokester who didn’t particularly care about the feelings of others had now made her the victim of a game. Well, he isn’t that bad, Callahan thought. But she does deserve this a little.

"She’s so feisty! I bet she gave you the real runaround!" Rowan grinned, tapping at the bottle again. Nyve let out a furious, muffled shriek. The bottle almost tipped over, but Rowan caught it at the last second like it was all part of the game.

"Yeah," Callahan muttered, watching Nyve bounce around inside. "She likes to tease, that’s for sure."

"Well, c’mon, lil' fairy!" Rowan picked up the bottle and swirled it in the air. Nyve spun wildly inside.

"Show us something! Ma says you’re good at magic."

A devilish smile spread across Nyve’s face. Some dark, foreboding feeling welled up in Callahan’s chest. Nyve was slippery in her own realm—so why hadn’t she escaped yet? That smile… it didn’t bode well.

“Hey, Rowan, you should stop,” Callahan reached for the bottle, but Rowan lifted it above his head with a grin. “Whaaaaat,” he stretched out the word, ignoring him completely. “I just wanna see what she can do! Maybe she can light up the bottle like a lamp!” He laughed, but Callahan was getting worried now, because the bottle was lighting up and Rowan didn’t even notice.

“Rowan, please—” The words never reached his ears. Then—SNAP.

The world flipped. They weren’t in the room anymore. Or at least, they weren’t standing by the desk. A strange, sticky liquid welled up at their feet. The walls around them shifted, turning into a thick green glass, curving and enclosing them on all sides.

“Huh, where’d she go?” Rowan looked at his empty hand.

“Oh no.” Callahan knew exactly what had happened.

Before he could say it, gravity vanished.

“Oh, this is quite the trick!” Rowan sounded impressed.

“Rowan, you idiot, I told you to stop!”

That sticky floor beneath them scurried away, faster than they could fall towards it. And then—just as quickly—it came slamming back up at them. Their bodies hit the ground with a thud, completely soaked in stale ale.

Callahan groaned. “Ugh, she’s never done anything like this before,”

He was soaked in ale. Sticky. Miserable. He hated the thought of having to spend money to clean up, but he hated the thought of smelling like booze for weeks even more. Rowan, on the other hand, was laughing.

“Oh, look at that! Look at what she did!” He pointed upward, eyes wide with wonder.

Above them, their glassy domed sky shimmered. Nyve’s eye hurtled toward them like the planets in Gwyndadoraoralaeolye.

"A pair of bumbling brothers, bathing in a bottle—would you like to go for a spin, boys?"

Her voice crackled like a rolling storm, amusement thundering around them. Is this how she always hears people? Callahan wondered.

"OH COME ON YA FAIRY, DO IT, I DARE YA!"

Rowan grinned, throwing his arms wide, completely unfazed.

"ROWAN, SHUT UP, SHUT UP—SHE WILL—"

With a flick of Nyve’s wrist, it began.

"WHOOAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The bottle spun. The brothers slid along the glass walls, sloshing through rivers of ale as gravity whipped them in every direction. Rowan cackled like a madman, his laughter echoing off the curved walls.

"NYVE, PLEASE, MERCY—WE GIVE UP!" Callahan yelled.

"NO, WE DON’T! KEEP GOING!"

It was a nightmare scenario. Callahan was right—this was his worst fear. Rowan’s booming laughter roared inside the bottle, and Nyve’s thundered from outside it.

“Oh, look at you! You’re precious! Those childish laughs! Do you like being tiny, boys?”

Nyve wound down the gyrations, letting the brothers come to a smooth stop at the bottom of the bottle. "Thoroughly tossed and turned, I’d say!"

She uncorked the bottle and, as gently as she could, poured the brothers and the rest of the ale out onto the table. Rowan plopped out first, hitting the wood with a sticky thud.

"WOOOOO!"

Then Callahan came tumbling after.

"NYVE, I WASN’T EVEN—"

Thud. Right on top of Rowan.

As smooth a landing as he could’ve asked for.

“Oh, come on now, get up! Not much time left, y’know, this break won’t last forever!” Nyve poked at them, urging them to move. Rowan gasped for air, still laughing between breaths.

"Hahaha—oh, hahaaehe—I can’t believe it! I really can’t believe it! What a ride!"

Callahan slid off his brother, shaking off stale booze. "Why did I get shrunk too! I didn’t put you in the bottle!" Nyve’s giant finger came down like a pillar, poking Callahan in the belly, he stumbled back almost losing his footing entirely. “Oh? Consider it payback for trying to drown me in the lake!"

Callahan still couldn’t even process what kind of power this was—how she did it, why she didn’t try anything like it before. Rowan came up behind him, still grinning ear to ear.

"Oh, she’s somethin’, Callahan." He slapped Callahan on the back, then turned to give Nyve an exaggerated welcome, his arms flailing in the air to catch her attention.

"HEY, LADY! WHAT’S YOUR NAME? I’M ROWAN! IT’S A PLEASURE!"

"Nyve! The wonderful and fabulous Fairy Goddess of Gwyndadoraoralaeolye!"

She lifted Rowan and Callahan gently between her fingers, then placed them on the floor.

"Please, mercy," Callahan pleaded.

Rowan, however, was already raring to go for whatever else she had planned.

"Oh, calm down now, Callahan. Time is up anyway!"

A green light enveloped them, warm and pulsing. In an instant, their sizes snapped back to normal. Nyve was tiny again. The bottle was no longer a prison. But they were still soaked to the bone in booze.

"Aww, no more magic? Did you run out already!?" Rowan's voice dripped with disappointment—as did the ale still clinging to him. Callahan’s eyes narrowed. With a flash of movement, his bare hand whipped across Rowan’s bare back.

SMACK.

"WHOACH—!" Rowan jerked forward, a red handprint now seared across his back.

"Oh, that was a good one," he winced, letting out a small laugh.

"Told you I'd get you back…" Callahan flicked his hand in the air, trying to swipe away his own pain from hitting Rowan so hard.

"And you really deserved it this time."

Rowan grunted out a last chuckle.

"Okay, okay, heh heh heh…"

Nyve floated over to Callahan, resting herself on his shoulder, legs crossed, one foot kicking lazily in the air.

"No fightin’, boys! Y’know better!" she teased.

Then she leaned in, eyes twinkling.

"I can see it in your eyes, Callahan. You’ve got questions. Go ahead, ask away! I’ve had my fun… and I know there’s so much more to come!"

Callahan sighed. He knew he was stuck with her now. Some strange fate had been forced upon him, and he doubted—especially at this moment—that there was any way to evade it.

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His hands sweeped his hair between his fingers, tugging it slightly, fatigued.

"What are you even doing here… and what was all that?"

He gestured at himself—his booze-soaked clothes. Then, something caught his eye. The room had changed. Those weird fractal flowers from Gwyndadoraoralaeolye had sprouted all over. Callahan stiffened. His exhaustion turned to wariness.

"And that. Why is that growing here?"

His fingers dug into his temples, trying to numb a headache that was already beginning. Rowan, meanwhile, had plucked one of the flowers off his bed and sat down, admiring it like a rare trinket.

"Ooh, could probably sell these? they’re pretty!"

Without a second thought, he grabbed an empty bottle off the floor, stuffed the flower inside, and set it neatly on the table.

"And Kiki says I don’t know how to keep the place nice." He snorted, looking pleased with himself.

"Well, my sweet Callahan,"

Nyve’s voice dripped with a strange, saccharine sweetness, as if she were mocking the very words she spoke.

"Lughren thought you might need a hand! A push in the right direction, and—" She pressed her tiny hands into his shoulder, teasingly. "I’m ever so good at pushing, and as for that… well…" She paused, Callahan caught a sliver of hesitation.

"Well, what?" he pushed, eyes narrowing.

"You never did that in… whatever you call it."

Nyve pouted theatrically, then giggled.

"Well… I’m not really supposed to be doing that."

She kicked her legs in the air, looking far too pleased with herself.

"Lughren has much more control over Gwyndadoraoralaeolye than I do, y’know! Ohhh, I do hope he isn’t lookin’ in our direction right now!"

Her wings fluttered as she twirled in the air, voice dripping with mock worry.

"I’ll be in sooo much trouble." Then, Nyve leaned in close, a mischievous spark in her eyes.

"But that, Callahan?" She tapped his forehead playfully.

"That is what I can do when I play with the Accord, and those flowers! Well, they’re just touch of Gwyndadoraoralaeolye! A sign that I’ve been having a little too much fun!"

Her tone deepened, the teasing laced with something… older. "A Goddess doesn’t bend or bind, oh, we like to break it, and out here? Lughren can’t really stop me!"

Then, like a petal drifting in the wind, Nyve floated down, landing flat on her back atop Callahan’s shoulder. Her wings swung lazily off his side, legs crossed, fingers pointing directly at him.

"Oh, but don’t expect me to be pulling you out of every little situation you might find yourself in! There’s a reason Lughren doesn’t want me using these breaks! Only when it’s needed!"

Callahan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Then with a quick swipe, he grabbed her by the foot, lifting her up into the air. Nyve giggled, swinging happily in place. He held her up, eye-level, his glare burning into her tiny upside-down face.

"And the whole thing with the bottle?"

His voice was flat, unimpressed.

"That was needed?"

Nyve crossed her arms, giving him an upside-down nod.

"Of course! Rowan was being a bully!"

Callahan groaned, exhaling deeply. then, he let her go. He dragged himself toward his bed. He didn’t even care that he was sticky and gross anymore. Rowan, sitting on the other bed, watched the exchange. Then, with a casual shrug, he grinned.

"I just wanted to see what she could do!"

He leaned back, stretching.

"Come on, Cal, it wasn’t that bad."

Nyve floated over to Rowan, tucking herself into his long red hair. She disappeared into the wild curls, her tiny body blending into the fiery mess.

"You should listen to your brother, Caaaaal," she sang, drawing out his name in a long, teasing lilt.

Callahan, his face buried in his pillow, only peeked one tired eye out at them. He watched Rowan reach up, trying to poke at her, but she danced away, darting between strands of hair. She was like a locust in tall red grass.

“You’re quick!” Rowan tried to grab her as Callahan had, his hands playfully trying to get a pinch on her wings, “Oh you have no idea Rowan! You should’ve seen me twist, twirl and blink around Callahan’s cracks!” Rowan’s hair was all tangled now, not that it had been well kept before,

“He did surprise me a few times though, He’s quite quick on the draw!”

Nyve had flew off from Rowan and had begun making herself a tiny bed on the table that sat between the brothers. She had laid the picked fractal flowers in layers, stacking them delicately into something that looked comfortable for someone her size. Callahan watched her work, but at this point, he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to ask her anything else. The night had already been so long—the bar, the Kraken Callers, Ollie and everything before that. But still, he wondered. He let out a tired sigh, voice muffled under his pillow.

"Well... where do you plan to push us, Nyve?"

Nyve placed the final touch on her bed—a single curled petal, fluffed like a pillow, then looked up to Callahan, a glint of pride in her eyes at her accomplishment.

"Oh, I wouldn’t spoil the surprises, Callahan!"

She grinned, flopping gracefully into her bed, arms stretched overhead like a satisfied cat.

"When I think you’ve lost your way, I’ll let you know!"

Callahan rolled his eyes. He wasn’t even sure yet how he felt about her being here. But the feelings weren’t very positive.

"There are so many ways this journey could go," Nyve continued, snuggling deeper into her floral nest.

"If I told you how it ended, or what’s to come… well, that might change things for the worse!"

Rowan, rubbing his beard, tilted his head.

"Huh. Do fairies need to sleep?"

Nyve giggled, draping one leg lazily over her fractal bedding.

"It’s a fabulous way to pass the time!"

Then, with utter dramatic flair, she waved one hand through the air.

"I once took a nap for 5000 years. When I woke up, I was absolutely stunning—my beauty radiated all over Gwyndadoraoralaeolye! Oh, it was wonderful." She sighed dreamily, Rowan wouldn’t have noticed it, but there was a tinge, miniscule, but familiar to Callahan at least, it was nostalgia.

"Well!" Rowan clapped his hands together, then flopped back into his bed.

"We should get some sleep. Big day tomorrow for all of us!"

With one lazy hand, he dragged a soaked sheet off the floor, sniffed it, then wrinkled his nose. His fingers searched for another—drier this time.

"We’re going shopping! Calling Ma! Ooh, maybe we’ll go to the Luminarc too! That’d be fun."

Satisfied with his blanket, Rowan wrapped himself up, ready for sleep. Nyve squeezed her petal blanket close to her face, pretending to hide her excited expression. "Oh, I can’t wait!"

Callahan was quiet. Rowan yawned, stretching one arm behind his head.

"Ha. Well, sleep tight, Cal. And you too, Nyve!" His grin was easy, warm, already fading into sleep.

"Pleasant dreams, Mighty Rowan," she whispered. Nyve watched him, then turned to Callahan, her gaze softened. There was something different in her expression. Something almost tender. It made Callahan feel strange.

"And you too, my sweet Callahan."

Callahan shuffled himself deeper into his bed, wrapping himself in blankets. He fidgeted, shifting, getting comfortable. Not wanting to be rude, as she would so often call him, he sighed.

"Goodnight, guys."

What felt like one long day had finally come to an end. Monsters and fairy realms of dying gods. Then, worst of all, being forced into the heart of Kiki’s when it was full to bursting. It had been the strangest and most grueling day of his journey in Onoria so far.

Callahan wondered what awaited him next. Nyve was a new problem, but he didn’t know what to do with her. And if she was real, that meant Lughren was too. She said she would push me in the right direction—but does that direction include getting money for Ma? I still haven’t even agreed to whatever she has in store, but I don’t think she’d let me say no now that she’s here. I wonder what she’d do if we tried to ditch her. Nothing good I bet…

She’d always been able to keep up with him in Gwyndadoraoralaeolye, but here, she seemed more limited. The effects of her power were drastic, but she had admitted she could only use them sparingly, and their duration wasn’t long. He rolled further into his bed, away from both Nyve and Rowan. She could be useful, maybe we can use her powers on jobs that get too dangerous for my bind. But she really stands out... It’ll make us stick out if she’s always floating around. We’ll have to figure something out for that.

Callahan traced the rope of his pendant with his fingers, following it down to the silver etching. He held it out in front of him and stared, We’ll figure it out, take it a day at a time. Today was a big step towards home. With that thought of home in his mind he closed his eyes, and sleep was quick to come to his weary mind.

“Up bright and early, a beautiful day,

To go on down to the market’s way!

Our wallets full of hard-earned pay!

We’ll spend it all on fun and play!”

The words were garbled, barely coherent in Callahan’s mind. Nyve sang as she hopped on his cheek, like a child bouncing on a bed. He groaned, swiping lazily at his face, but missed. She darted up, dodging effortlessly, and when his hand flopped back onto the bed, she just kept bouncing.

“Oh, wake up already, you lazy boy!” She huffed, stomping her tiny feet in an exaggerated pout, but no one was even awake to see her little fit. Callahan was still dead asleep, and there was no point in trying to rouse Rowan—if his own snoring hadn’t woken him, Nyve without drastic measures certainly wouldn’t.

“Well, then, I guess I’ll just entertain myself!”

She darted around the room, plucking up the glowing flowers she had conjured in the night. She gathered them all at the table, where Lughren’s Eye and Rowan’s discarded armor lay. Humming to herself, she fiddled with the petals and stems, weaving them into something new—even ripping a few strips of leather from Rowan’s armor to complete her work. The very early hours of the morning passed in a blur of restless energy, Nyve flitting from one task to another, anything to stave off her boredom.

Hours later, the brothers began to stir.

Rowan’s awakening was the rudest. His breath hitched mid-snore, catching in his throat like he was struggling to stay alive. With a grunt, he sat up, dazed, like a man who had no idea where he was or how he got there. He hadn’t even drunk much the night before, but still—when Rowan slept, he was dead as a log.

“Uugh… Mornin’.” He slapped his face, trying to knock the sleep out of his body. His eyes landed on Nyve, who was still perched at the desk, finishing her strange new project. “What’re you doing over there?”

He rolled off his bed, already looking for something to throw on. He was heading straight for the kitchen. Kiki would be cooking by now, and he wasn’t about to miss out on food.

“Oh, just a little thing, y’know!” Nyve swung a strange rope over her shoulder, its petal-flesh twisting and curling with a strange ambient glow. “It’d be a real tragedy if we ever lost this, so I made Callahan a little gift!”

Rowan leaned in, reaching to take it. “Huh. You need help carrying that?”

Nyve smacked his hand away.

“Oi! It’s not for you, greedy Rowan!”

“All right, carry it yourself then,” he chuckled, rubbing his face again, still trying to shake off the last traces of sleep. He headed for the door, pausing just long enough to kick Callahan’s bed on his way out.

“Wake up! Big day today!”

Callahan stirred with a groggy grumble, he rolled over, back flat against his bed, eyes barely wanting to stay open. He blinked once. Twice. On the third, there she was.

Nyve hovered above his vision, clutching something tightly to her chest.

“Happy Birthday!”

She dropped it.

Lughren’s Eye dinged right off his forehead, rolling onto the bed beside him, tangled in the freshly woven petal-twine. It was a cold little knock, but it didn’t really hurt. He was still dazed, still clinging to sleep.

“My birthday is still months away…” His voice was groggy, confused.

Nyve groaned, already impatient. “Oh, would you just open your eyes and look at what little Nyve made you? Rude! Mean old giant.”

Callahan lazily swiped the bed for the Eye, feeling the cord wrap around his fingers as he brought it into view.

“Oooh, you made it into a necklace. How?”

Nyve puffed up with pride. “I’m a fairy goddess! I can do so many things! Now—doesn’t it bring back such precious memories of our time together?”

There was something genuinely warm in her voice, and Callahan noticed it. He sat up, turning the cord over in his hands. The flowers looked just like the ones that bloomed in Gwyndadoraoralaeolye. He wouldn’t admit it to her, but it really was… a pretty sight. And it held the Eye of Lughren securely.

“So you want me to wear this?” He slipped the cord over his head, the Eye settling neatly beside his boar pendant. “You sure you don’t want to leave it here, where it’s safe?”

“Oh, absolutely not. You need to keep that with you at all times!”

Nyve fluttered closer, inspecting the way the Eye now rested against Callahan’s chest.

“It suits you nicely, Callahan.”

There it was again—that look. He preferred when she had that mischievous glint in her eye. The melancholic, softer Nyve? He wasn’t sure what to think of her when she looked like that.

“Well, if you say so. No point in arguing with you of all things.”

“You’re right. You’d definitely lose.”

She darted onto his shoulder as he pushed himself up.

“Oh, you stink, Callahan! Are you really going to town smelling like that?”

Nyve plugged her nose, waving a tiny hand in front of her face as if to swat away the smell.

Callahan exhaled through his nose. “This is your fault, you know. You could’ve just put Rowan in the bottle.” He half-heartedly searched the room for something clean to wear, glancing toward Nyve.

“It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t give both my boys attention!” Her voice was nasally—she was still plugging her nose.

Callahan stopped. “We’re your boys now?”

“Of course! Every Lughari—man or woman—you’re like our sweet little babies! That part that makes you, you? Your soul? It’s just a small part of us.” She spun in the air, arms wide. “Or well… a small part of Lughren!”

Nyve watched as Callahan shuffled through his room, fruitlessly tossing clothes aside.

“Lughari?” He barely sounded like he was paying attention. “That what you call us?”

“That’s what you called yourselves. Well, I mean—you did. I don’t know what you call yourselves anymore. I didn’t get to see much in Gwyndadoraoralaeolye.”

She pointed to a corner he hadn’t searched yet.

“So? What do you call yourselves nowadays?”

“Surprised you don’t already know.”

He followed her direction, but all he found was more dirty laundry and booze.

Nyve smirked. “I didn’t catch every detail in your head, y’know! I have some respect for privacy.”

“A lot of the older folks call us Ryelanders—it’s the name of the islands we live on,” Callahan muttered. “Onorions have more dismissive names. Usually, we’re just called Forsaken. They really don’t like our lack of worship or reverence for a god.”

His stomach growled, but he couldn’t go downstairs with Nyve still lounging on his shoulders.

“I think they’d probably respect us more if we still worshipped something, at least,” he admitted. “But that’s just how it is. Though there are a lot of converts everyday, maybe Rye will start getting more respect.”

He could feel her tiny fingers digging into his shoulder at the words.

“Converts, eh?” Nyve’s voice had a sharp edge to it—serious, almost bitter. It was the same anger she’d shown when she heard Onorus’s name at the heart of the lake.

“Yeah, well, I’m hungry,” Callahan muttered, already wanting to shift the conversation. “And I need to tell you something, because I already know you won’t stay put while me and Rowan go to the market.”

He plucked Nyve off his shoulder and set her in his palm, making sure she was paying attention.

“I’m not gonna fight you on this,” he admitted, anticipating her resistance. “But… I do need you to follow some rules.”

Nyve’s frustration vanished, her expression brightening as she realized what he was saying. “Oh, Sweet Callahan, you know me so well! I’m flattered!” Her brow perked up as she leaned in, eager to listen.

“To be on the safe side, you can’t be floating around or causing a scene, If you’re coming with us, you have to hide in Rowan’s hair. Onorions already don’t like Dregs in the upper districts, but if we’re caught with something they’ve never seen before, we’re definitely gonna be in trouble.”

Callahan expected a fuss, but Nyve seemed more intrigued than annoyed.

“Oooh, little Nyve gets to be a sneak? I like this game! Oh, but Rowan’s hair is a mess, and he stinks far worse than you!” She wrinkled her nose dramatically.

Callahan sighed. “Your dress and hair match his, and if you keep your wings down, you should blend in. I could make him wear a hat too.” His voice dropped into something more serious. “Just please, Nyve. Keep quiet and stay low. If you really want to be helpful—to push us forward—you gotta stay hidden.”

She twirled a strand of her own hair between her fingers, pretending to think it over. Then, with a wide grin, she clapped her hands together. “It’s a fine idea, Callahan! You’re right, of course! It would’ve been quite the predicament if you got caught in the market with such a beautiful princess. They might think you kidnapped me!” She gasped, eyes wide with mock horror. “Then it’d be off to the chopping block for both of you!”

Callahan tried to force a smile, but deep down, he thought it might honestly be worse than that.

“Well, I guess we have a deal then… Just one last thing—stay hidden in the bar too. I trust Kiki, but…” Callahan hesitated, rubbing his jaw. “The Dregs aren’t safe either. If you want something to eat, I can bring you something up?”

His face tensed. He wasn’t sure if he was asking too much of her. Nyve in the waking world was an unknown variable, but if she acted anything like she did in her own realm, this could be a disaster waiting to happen.

Nyve let out a dramatic, exaggerated sigh. “Oh, you’re torturing me, Callahan! Truly, you are! I can’t leave the room unless I’m tangled in Rowan’s hair, I can’t meet Kiki, I can’t sing and dance in the bar! You might as well just kill me now…” She spun and swayed, then flopped flat onto her back in his palm, going utterly still in a mock death. One gleaming green eye peeked open.

“Fiiiiiine, I’ll agree. Go and eat, sweet little Callahan, and then—it’s time for our first big day together!” She snickered to herself, “Bring me something sugary too, it’s been ages!”

Callahan exhaled in relief, setting Nyve down on his bed as gently as he could. She settled in without fuss, giving him one last mischievous grin as he turned toward the door. He gave her a small wave before heading out. Today was going well so far. And Kiki had something delicious cooking.

It’s gonna be a good day, a sparkle of optimism lingered in his mind.