The thought that the conversation left me with, though, was a bit of a sad one.

If everyone decent I knew had screwed up parents except Seb and Clara…that probably meant more parents were screwed up.

Or, maybe, it meant having a messed up family pushed you into our kind of craziness. I decided that was the real answer and to stop worrying about it. Besides, the more people around the more firepower.

And the more people who might die. I shook my head at that thought, heading home before it could take me over into melancholy. If nothing else, home had chocolate.

Home also had a tired-looking Kanesha. We curled up together on the couch.

“I’m a little worried,” she said, finally. “I think I’m being followed by fire giants.”

I tensed. “You…probably are. I can come dissuade them.”

“I can probably do that, if it’s only one or two of them, but it’s making me worry that Surtur’s about to try something.

“If he touches you…” If he did, I might forget about the consequences of killing him.

If I could.

It wasn’t my task. Did that mean bad things would happen if I did or did it mean I didn’t have the right skillset to do it? Probably the latter. I was pretty sure I knew which of us would win in an out and out fight.

It wasn’t my task. That didn’t mean I was sure I could resist the temptation to try if he so much as cut a braid from Kanesha’s head.

“Don’t…”

“I won’t do anything stupid, but he needs to know he won’t get away with it.”

“It might also be people who don’t want you as queen protecting me.”

I laughed. “Well. Again, if you need help chasing them off, just let me know. I will.”

“I know that. I think I can handle them.” She didn’t sound sure, though.

She had a decent weapon, but she couldn’t conceal it the way I could. She could only really carry it when we were actually hunting.

“Might be best to get them on our own terms, though.”

She turned towards me. “I don’t mind being bait.”

“Don’t put it that way. It makes you sound helpless.” And I didn’t want to ever see her as that, think of her as that. Because she wasn’t. She most emphatically was not helpless.

“Got a better way?” A pause. “Let’s worry about it tomorrow.” She reached to pull me into a kiss.

I wasn’t about to object, and things most definitely went in interesting directions from there.

But my last thought before dozing off was that I had signed her up for this and I had to make sure nothing happened to her.

Nothing bad.