Telgrym worked at his bench, the only sound his sometimes haranguing mutterings, which no longer brought either amusement or irritation to the angel. Gradually the mage's exclamations began to take on a more formal tone, and Anna knew that he had begun the incantations that would reproduce her vessel. If she were inclined to hope, she would have willed him towards perfection.

Hours passed, and the room filled with golden light and charged air that rose the hairs on Katya's arms.

When at last the outer room had fallen completely silent, Anna stirred and began to listen for his command to come out and admire his handiwork. None came, but neither could she hear any sounds of movement that would let the angel know that he was still working. She stood and walked to the edge of the screen.

It stood as still as a wax statue in the center of a perfect circle, made of interconnected runes that must have been set into the floor, though she hadn't noticed them before. Now they flickered with the magus' golden magic.

The vessel was unclothed and faced the door, its back to Anna. Not a single strand of the dark red hair that spilled down its back was out of proper place. Looking past the figure, she saw its creator slumped in a chair facing it, his eyes closed. She concentrated on him until she saw his chest rise and fall, twice. A small smile formed on Katya's lips, and the angel moved into the room to inspect this work.

Her first thought was that the vessel did not look like Anna, in spite of its hair, the lashes that fringed her closed eyes, and its fair skin. As she studied it, she noticed faint scars on its calf-falling on the concrete step-and its forearm-the hospital, she thought. Telgrym had incorporated the physical marks of Anna's memory. The angel's smile grew wide and sad. It would do, very well.

She stepped over the rune line and opened Katya's mouth to breathe her grace and the spark into her new physical form.

"Wait!" Telgrym called from behind her, his voice thick with sleep. "Patience, angel. My lady must be present."

"Why?" Anna asked- a touch sharply.

"My dear, it is her spell-craft, and her commission. She would be angry with me if I did not invite her to witness the final step."

"I will take the responsibility." Anna was still staring at her new vessel.

Telgrym sighed. "You will also want my lady to make it ready."

"Isn't it already?"

"Ready for your passenger."

Anna turned to look at the magus then.

"She takes a special interest in these matters, you know. Is not that why you came here?"

"No. I came to spend a favor. But you are right, I suppose."

"Of course I am. Wait here, young-angel. I will ask her to attend us." He stood and walked to the door, his gait weary and stiff.

Anna turned back to her examination. So this is what the boy saw when he'd gazed up at her in the backseat of his car. It was an attractive face, she thought, but had it warranted the glint she saw in his eyes? Anna cocked her head to one side, remembering the chill air, their breath fogging up the windows, the feel of his fingers, his lips. It was as if these memories belonged to someone else. They floated above her, torn out of context.

At some point, Telgrym returned and busied himself behind his screen. Anna heard him splash water into a basin while he grumbled to himself again. When he emerged, his hands and face were clean, and he had replaced his stained tunic with a linen shirt and frock coat, which he tugged at when he saw her watching. Neither of them spoke.

The Fae queen arrived with her guard at her heels, but she waved at them to remain on the small landing as she entered the magus' shop. The door closed behind her as she glided forward to inspect the vessel. Telgrym leapt to his feet from the stool by the workbench and bowed deeply, blushing and pulling at his coat again as his lady circled the runes.

Finally she spoke. "Well done, my good servant. It will more than suffice."

"Thank you, my lady." The mage twisted his hands together and bobbed his head.

The queen looked at Anna. "And you? Are you pleased?"

"I am."

The queen allowed the silence that followed to draw out between them, as she contemplated the two figures standing face to face, until Anna could stand it no longer. "Telgrym said I had to wait for you before I took control."

"Indeed." The queen glanced at the little man, who startled, then hurried forward with murmured apologies. He knelt down and touched one of the runes, extinguishing the circle's light. She smiled her thanks with an eyebrow arched.

Without a word, she approached Anna and the vessel, and placed both hands on the lower part of the vessel's stomach. A faint orange glow moved under her fingertips and spread across its skin. Anna thought its eyelids might have fluttered. After a moment, the queen spoke. "The potential will need to be guided to its space within this body, once you both are in occupation. After this, you, angel, must ensure its survival, maintaining nourishment and balance as it-"

"She-"

"Quite so. As I said, you must continue its care and safety, if you do wish for its eventual birth. Do you vouchsafe this action?"

"Yes," the angel said quickly, feeling the spark push against her grace, somewhere in the vicinity of Katya's ribs.

"After its birth, which I will attend, the child's comfort in my court I will accept as my responsibility, in exchange for your services. The child shall not want for a home in my realm. Do you give your oath to this arrangement?"

Anna hesitated, feeling the queen's gaze on her face, but finally said softly, "Yes."

"Lastly, little angel, in order to ensure the child's safety, the mortal world should not interfere in my court's affairs. Its father will not be told of its existence. Do you accept these terms?"

"Yes," Anna said again.

"Thrice spoken, not to be broken." The queen's voice was somewhere between an incantation and a sing-song chant as she looked over her shoulder at Anna, one corner of her mouth curved up. Then, in a more severe tone, she said, "It is done."

She removed one hand from the vessel's stomach and swept it up and back to clap over Katya's forehead. As the connection was made, Katya's mouth opened. Without thought or will, Anna's grace flowed out of its temporary home and into its newly made vessel. The angel pulled the spark of mortal life along with her grace, and it tumbled, as though caught in a tide, into the new body. The runes on the floor flared again, enclosing the musician, queen and vessel in golden incandescent light.

Anna felt the queen's hand on her stomach, and the spark seemed to respond to it as well. The Fae's magic pulled it down into the vessel's womb, which had been prepared for it. Anna's muscles contracted at the twinge of pain her vessel felt when the spark latched onto it, claiming its space inside. Inside her. The angel opened her eyes to meet the queen's speculative gaze. Behind the queen's skirts, she saw Katya's body sprawled on the floor. Telgrym was just laying a palm on the musician's forehead.

"She survives, magus," the queen said without turning. "You will see to her?"

Telgrym nodded, and said roughly, "I will, my lady."

"My thanks for your excellent service. I will see you rewarded." Telgrym nodded again but made no further movement.

The guards entered. One stood at attention by the door. The other at his lady's signal approached, and offered her a richly embroidered red robe. The queen accepted it and turned to smile broadly at the angel, holding the robe out before her. Anna took it with a bow of her head and slipped it over her shoulders.

"Welcome to my court, Anna Milton of the Host. Shall we find you quarters?" The queen held out her arm.

Anna accepted the invitation, and linked her own arm into the crook of her new liege's elbow. "Thank you, your highness."

The queen laughed at that, a gentle trilling sound, as she guided the angel around Telgrym and Katya, and over the runes, now darkened once more.

The queen bent her head to Anna's ear and said, "There is no need of such titles. 'My Lady' will serve perfectly well."