I shot her a wink as I poured a small glass of Firewater. “Isn't that the truth.”

The stench of blood and death was getting thicker in the tavern. Even with my sense of smell being absolutely shot, I could catch a stray whiff of the cocktail. I don't know how Amari was able to tolerate it. Perhaps being around it (and worse) all the time at the Sanctum, she had grown used to it.

I motioned towards the broken window along the far wall with the rim of my glass. “Feel free to knock out more of that, if you want some fresher air in here.”

There had been something stirring in the back of my mind ever since the assassin almost violently turned down the drink I offered her. Just a few little details I've picked up since she boarded the airship back at the Sanctum.

A slightly but visibly bigger belly than the last time we spoke. Constantly hungry. Refusing some damn good whiskey. A kind of subdued, distant, maybe even wistful mood at times.

Actually listening to Lye.

Oh, gods. Did this mean what I thought it meant?

--It had to be! That would explain everything! How she was borderline reluctant to join me on the airship, why Advent Calendar or whatever the fuck her name is insisted that she stay at the home, keeping Lye's bone throne warm for his return. Her careful movements as she danced around the tavern, picking her targets with her magical snake tentacle whatever things.

“You're pregnant, aren't you.” It wasn't a question so much as it was a statement.

Amari's pale features immediately turned as red as her hair. “Y-yes,” she said almost hesitantly.

“Ha!” I clasped my hands together, forgetting that one of them still held the glass. Amber liquid splashed over the rim and onto my briar-knit hand. “That's wonderful!”

Hang on, wait just a second. “Whose kid is it? Is it his? Lye's?”

She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't force out the words. Instead, she broke my gaze and tried to focus on anything else in the tavern.

“No,” I cried out, “no, if it is, that's great! It means he finally fucking listened to me!”

A look of puzzlement flashed across her eyes. Clearly not the answer she was expecting.

“That year I had him locked away in his own dungeon finally bearing fruit,” I continued. “All those lessons I beat into his thick skull, and he's finally realizing how right I am!”

I rounded the bar and took a seat next to her at the table. I tightly clasped her hands in mind, giving them a quick squeeze.

“And that message I sent, when you were having a bad time... I didn't mean for him to treat you well like that,” I said, motioning towards her expanding midsection and the lifeform that wiggled around inside. “But hey, as long as you are doing better, and you're happy, that's all that matters, right?”