While the girls were shopping, I had an idea and sent off a quick message to Rieka’s mother, Queen Gemma Coldeye.

  Checking in with you, highness. We are currently at the Ironclaw capital and everyone is doing well. Queen Emilia Ironclaw said that she had a missive that she wished Rieka to carry to you. It apparently isn’t urgent, but I wanted to make you aware of it in case the situation was different. I can easily deliver it to you once Queen Emilia has it prepared with a summon if you wish.

  There, I thought with a small smile. Rieka and her mother have an odd relationship, but I know that Gemma cares and would want to know we safely arrived. Kicking myself for not thinking to contact Gemma sooner.

  An excited squeal from Jane made me jump and my Shape-Shifting flex instinctively, but before anything unfortunate that might damage my clothes happened, I spotted what had the girls excited.

  “Ussava tarts!”

  Kassandra’s exclamation helped me to reign in my battle-tuned reaction that demanded I lash out physically, and I took a breath to calm down as I hurried in the wake of my girls. I did note that Valda had her hand on her sword hilt as well, having reacted in a similar fashion to the loud noise.

  I caught the lizard-folk woman’s eyes and nodded my thanks. Valda rolled her iron-gray eyes at me and smirked.

  “Scared me half to death with that noise,” I mumbled to her as we arrived where the other girls were busily selecting hand-sized, bright blue pies made with the odd fruits.

  “A guardian’s reflexes,” Valda said, and from her tone I could tell it was a compliment. “I’m just glad you had control of yourself.”

  I rolled my eyes, but didn’t argue with her. It was a good thing that I’d checked before following my body’s instincts to attack whatever had made my girls squeal, considering just how much damage I could do with my entropy or earth magic right now.

  “I didn’t expect to find these so far north!” Kassandra was saying excitedly, transferring stacks of the steaming pastries into her dimensional pouch.

  “I buy the fruits from an orchard to the south,” the merchant, a male lizard-folk with red scales, explained with a happy smile. “Soon, things like these won’t be so rare up here either! I have it on good authority from the fellow who ships them up to us that the young noble who is in charge of that land is expanding her holdings and adding more trees. It might be a few years but I hope to make these a staple throughout the year except for the deep winter!”

  The merchant’s enthusiasm for this prospect was mirrored in Kassandra’s glee when she realized that it was likely her orchard that the man was so excited for.

  “I am sure that the landowner will be happy to hear that her plans are something that others are looking forward to,” Kassandra said at last as she counted out coins for the tart-seller.

  I missed what happened next because the bond-mark on my arm for Gemma hummed quietly and I closed my eyes to listen to her response.

  It is wonderful to hear that you have made it safely to the capital. I would expect the forces to escort you as well will arrive within the next few days. They will have carriages to speed the return to Juneau as well, something I’m sure that they would appreciate.

  To the missive from Queen Ironclaw… I am not aware of anything urgent enough to require you to act as a courier. But if it is urgent enough that Ironclaw is asking Rieka to carry it for her, then it should reach me as soon as possible. Will you ask my daughter and your companions to make a trip to the capital? I would also like to debrief her in person about the events of the last few months.

  I had just finished reading Gemma’s request when the edges of my vision flashed and then a System message appeared.

  Assist your contracted companion, Gemma Coldeye, by ensuring her daughter arrives safely at the capital to report to her.

  Reward - 200 SP

  “Huh,” I muttered to myself, blinking slowly as I considered what appeared.

  Whatever is happening, the System clearly wants me to go to the capital with Rieka, I thought. The lower SP reward means that it should be a relatively easy or trivial task given how long it would take to travel there.

  “Liam has that look on his face,” Kassandra said, her voice coming from right in front of me and I blinked my eyes open to find her spectacle-enhanced eyes watching me from only inches away. There was a smear of blue paste on her upper lip from one of the tarts and the half-eaten pastry in her right hand while she smirked at me.

  “The ‘I’m going to do something strange’ look? Or the ‘gonna destroy whatever is threatening us’ look?” Rieka chipped in curiously, her tail swishing behind her as she stepped around Kassandra with two of the blue fruit tarts. She offered one to me with a smile and I accepted it.

  “I was just in touch with your mother,” I said, nodding to Rieka meaningfully. “I figured she’d want to know we made it to town safely.”

  Rieka bobbed her head in understanding, taking a delicate bite of her tart while humming happily.

  “A good call,” Kassandra said, swaying backwards and allowing her head to sink back to the normal height she slithered at. My dwarf lamia had used her snake half to push herself higher, something she could do but it made her balance shaky.

  “She also mentioned that she’d sent along carriages to carry the students back to Juneau,” I continued, giving the little pie a sniff before taking a bite. The flavor was so close to key lime that I immediately loved it, but there was just enough difference that it was novel.

  “The others will be happy to hear that,” Valda said, urging us out of the way for the vendor so that the next customers could step up.

  “Rieka,” I murmured as our group rejoined the crowd and I found myself between Kassandra and my princess. “Your mum also asked me to bring you and the girls to her in the capital. She said something about debriefing you personally and also so you could deliver the message from Queen Ironclaw.”

  Rieka hummed thoughtfully, her tail still swinging behind her happily as she chewed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kassandra stiffen and shoot me a look before glancing towards Rieka.

  Long practice ensured that I paid close attention to my dwarf lamia when she got that mischievous look, so I didn’t miss the meaningful wiggle to her eyebrows.

  “Traveling to the capital shouldn’t be too difficult,” Rieka said after a moment of thought. “The Ironclaw clan has long been allies, so there is a road that leads directly from here to my mother’s palace. The academy group will be traveling along it for quite some ways and we can split off along the way to make the report to mother.”

  Rieka huffed a cute little sigh through her nose, her pointed wolf ears lying flat against her skull in irritation before she gave herself a shake and they popped upright once more.

  “I can understand why she would want to speak to us personally rather than taking a written report,” Rieka mumbled, annoyance still thick in her voice. “I lived that raid and there are parts I don’t believe.”

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  “It would be even harder to believe if you had gone in with him rather than me,” Valda commented from my other side with a wry smile.

  The conversation turned to a collection of handmade wool blankets that Jane had found while I trailed behind the girls, enjoying my fruit tart and keeping watch. Surprisingly, Kassandra kept close beside me as the other girls crowded the stall and discussed different colors and weights of fabric.

  “Liam,” Kassandra asked me in a voice near a whisper. “I doubt you know, but do you have a guess why Rieka’s mother wants her to return to the capital at this time?”

  I glanced down at my dwarf lamia to find a thoughtful smile on her face, along with a dot of blue filling on her nose. I reached out with one finger and swiped the tart goop off her nose.

  Kassandra’s eyes crossed when I did it, but as I was pulling the finger back with the bit of mess on it, she lunged forward and wrapped her lips around my finger, her tongue quickly swirling to reclaim the bit of her treat she’d missed.

  When I got my finger back and wiped it off on my shirt, I answered her.

  “Only what she told me: that she wants to ask Rieka and us questions about the mission.” I paused for a moment to think, glancing up at the cloud-studded sky far above us before shrugging. “Maybe she wants me to bond with Rieka’s other sisters, too? Or she wants to take possession of whatever treasures we pulled out of the ruin. We kind of have a reputation for finding valuable bits to sell and she’d want first crack at them.”

  “All legitimate thoughts,” Kassandra replied, her chest puffing up in pride but the smug look not leaving her face. “But I think I know the real reason that Queen Gemma wants her daughter back in the capital.”

  “Oh?” I asked, doing my best to not stare down Kassandra’s open blouse-top. It was a harder feat than you might guess since she was wearing her under-bust corset and those freckle-dotted curves were quite distracting.

  “Rieka’s birthday is coming up in a few weeks,” Kassandra confided, her eyes darting back to where my princess was now haggling over a soft, cream-colored blanket with the vendor. “I’m sure the queen wants to celebrate it with her, and the reports are just an excuse to get Rieka to come and visit. It’s been months since she’s seen her…”

  I couldn’t really enjoy that statement, it made far too much sense to try and refute it.

  Rieka always acts like her mother is distant. But my experiences with Gemma and her husband, Jonas, show them as loving parents behind all the noble intentions, I thought, my forehead wrinkling.

  Kassandra continued to grin up at me, clearly proud because her line of thinking had clearly made it through to me enough that I was starting to come to agreement with her while she wiped her sticky hands off on a small kerchief.

  “Well then,” I said with a sigh. “We need to come up with gifts for her then. Even if your guess isn’t correct, it wouldn’t be right to not celebrate with our friend.”

  “Exactly!” Kassandra exclaimed, finishing wiping her hands and tucking the handkerchief back into her bag. “Now, I need you to distract her while I pull the girls off one-by-one or in groups to buy gifts.”

  I must have shown something on my face then, since Kassandra’s smug plotting expression shifted to one of affectionate exasperation.

  “I’ll keep in touch with you via Contact Contracted Companion in case anything goes wrong. We are safe enough in this town, Liam.”

  “Saying something like that is like raising a flag that you are about to trigger an event that will cause problems,” I warned her, leaning over to offer her the last bite of my ussava tart as a peace offering.

  Kassandra didn’t hesitate, happily accepting the sweet treat from my fingers and kissing my fingertips while she chewed. Only once she’d finished and swallowed did she respond.

  “I’ll be careful, Liam. You know how capable each of us is, though. So you can trust us to look out for each other and to call you if something goes wrong.”

  “I do,” I murmured, stealing a kiss from her lips that tasted tart like the ussava. “I assume that you expect me to make Rieka something, since you aren’t including me in those shopping trips and instead keeping me on distraction duty?”

  “None of us have access to your world full of miracles,” Kassandra replied with a pert smile. “While we are traveling in the carriages, you can finally take a break from guarding us and tend to your obligations back on Earth. We love having you around, but we also feel guilty keeping you here too long—mph!”

  I cut her off with a kiss that Kassandra hungrily returned, her hands knotting in the front of my shirt to ensure I didn’t get away until she had her fill.

  The cinnamon and musk scent of my dwarf lamia enveloped me as the sun shone through her red curls. My world and focus dialed down until it was locked between the sensation of her soft lips, the sight of hungry eyes, and the smell of her hair. Behind her, I saw her brown-and-red-scaled tail writhing on the street as she savored the kiss as well.

  “Careful there, Kass,” Rieka chuckled as she emerged, tucking the new blanket into her dimensional bag on her hip. “Don’t go sucking his face off, Liam needs it for a while yet.”

  “Says you,” Kassandra murmured, finally pulling back from the kiss.

  We locked eyes and Kassandra gave me a subtle wink, which I returned with a slight nod of my head, accepting my assignment.

  Standing upright once more, I stepped around to where Rieka and the others were waiting and looped my arm through Rieka’s. My wolfish princess gave me a bright smile, using the arm in mine to pull herself close and lay her head on my shoulder while her tail slapped against the back of my legs happily.

  “Let’s keep moving, there are still a lot of places to see and things to experience still!” I said, leaning over to plant a kiss against the back of one of Rieka’s ears.

  My princess gave a rather undignified squeak of surprise and smacked my chest with her free hand, but the loving smile she shot me next told me that she wasn’t that upset. That and she didn’t let go of my arm either.

  “Let’s see if they have any scrimshaw pieces, Liam?” Rieka suggested, gesturing towards the thoroughfare. “There are some really interesting carving styles that might inspire you, and I’ve seen beadwork done with the ivory too that was gorgeous.”

  “Sounds like a plan to me then,” I agreed with a smile.

  It’s not going to be a burden to keep my princess distracted for Kass, I thought while we walked, stealing a glance back to see Kassandra rapidly whispering to a nodding Jane. I love getting to spend time with my girls.

  Over the next several hours, we worked our way through the rest of the market. Kassandra would peel off with two of the girls every so often and return in short order while the others stayed with me.

  Rieka remained glued to my side. I was sure that the only reason she was being so open and affectionate was because the majority of the people we encountered had no way of recognizing her as a princess, so her hang-ups never came to light to haunt her. I never pushed her for public displays of affection like I would for Kassandra. I knew that Rieka would struggle with those, even here.

  Instead, I focused on being a consummate gentleman as much as I could. I held her bag when she needed to dig for something, always offered my arm to her first and then another of the girls—rotating through so none of them felt left out—and opening doors to shops for her when we approached them.

  I could tell that Rieka appreciated it. I’d never known her to be someone who liked to be pampered, but she clearly was enjoying the additional attention that I was giving her. I just had to hope that she didn’t catch on to the why as I was sure that Kassandra was planning something.

  Scratch that, I thought with a private grin as we entered another shop specializing in leather goods. My mischief-macaroni is always planning something. More specifically, she’s planning a fun surprise for Rieka.

  Rieka ended up buying me a new belt, the leather carefully tooled to include the iconography of a dragon pressed into the leather while the buckle and end were decorated with polished silver carved with runic designs.

  “I think this will look good on you, Liam,” Rieka had said, looping the leather around my hips while blushing faintly, the tips of her wolfish ears tickling my jaw while she settled it into place.

  “Then I’ll wear it, happily,” I agreed, letting her do her thing. I normally didn’t bother with belts or pouches on Cortha, since I didn’t carry much. Anything small that I’d want access to would normally just get stuffed into my Dimensional Pocket and the outfits the girls had picked for me all fit close enough that I didn’t really need a belt to hold them together.

  “I agree,” Kassandra chimed in, having returned from the other side of the shop. “That does look good on him, and it shows off how trim he is by pulling the shirt in.”

  “That reminds me,” I said with a thoughtful hum. “I have a power that will let me merge clothes and armor with me automatically when I shift and then return them when I shift back. So we might want to look into getting me some armor for regular days like this.”

  “That is both good and bad,” grumbled Kassandra.

  “How could that possibly be bad?” Rieka protested, her eyebrows coming together in confusion. “I only see good things with Liam being more able to wear armor now that it won’t restrict his shifting.”

  “It means, dear Rieka,” Kassandra said with another annoyed huff. “That we won’t be getting any more free shows when Liam tears through his clothes in a hurry to protect us.”

  I smothered a snort of amusement at her statement, then another when I saw Rieka’s simultaneously blushing and disappointed look as well.

  “Don’t worry,” I cut in, getting the attention of the two as well as the other three standing nearby. “I won’t start charging for shows. You just have to ask.”

  I topped the statement off with an exaggerated wink that made Rieka, Jane, and Shayla blush. Kassandra just grinned, and—surprisingly—so did Valda.

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