Ulla sprawls on the grass with her head in Taylor's lap, smiling up at her. Hjerte will happily settle down to indulge Scraps, making a game of shifting his tentacles.

"Johann and I went swimming in the Enclosure. He has a newly discovered aquatic form. Or several of them. We went the sildroher city, the way it used to be. The gardens I built with Signy, the Nautilus Hall. It felt right, visiting with Hjerte and with another sea monster who would never fit there either. It didn't hurt the way I thought it might."

Her voice goes low and earnest. "When you first asked me to help you breathe underwater, I think I was too busy being afraid for you, and rushing to assure you that I don't need that, to realize how much I'd like it. Is that still something you want? I've been reading, and I might talk to Hunter too."