((Chapter heading from Sera Was Never from the DA:I tavern songs.))

Chapter 5
The Ways of Nobler Men

'Miriam?'

Kalyna snorted. 'I'm telling you it's a boy. And I thought we agreed that if it is a girl, which it's not, we call her Glory. And that was your idea in the first place.'

'Hm. Right.' The grin he wore told her that he was messing with her. He wasn't even trying to be convincing anymore. Way too comfortable. 'Have you asked Shaun?'

'Yeah. He asked me a counter question. One that I didn't answer.'

'Oh. Wow. Very precise, I love that about you. Never vague.' He dropped his grin, apparently noticing that she wasn't entirely comfortable with the direction of their talk. 'Hey, what did he say?'

'While I didn't answer, or rather, I lied and told him I couldn't answer, it's something I want to bounce off you. Because it makes sense, when you really think about it.'

'Whisper …'

'It's not … we don't have to tell anyone why, you know.'

'Kalyna Mara.'

She looked at him, wondering if he would yell or just silently flee – not that he'd stay away, that wasn't it, but she didn't want to hurt him. 'I was thinking … out of the blue, really … Connor?'

Deacon's mouth fell open. He licked his lips and swallowed drily. 'Out of the blue? Out of your mind, more like.'

'I'm sorry. I just wanted to … forget I said it.'

'Are you serious?'

'No,' she managed to say, convincingly, she believed. 'Bad joke, I really am sorry.'

'I refuse to believe you'd make a joke like that, so you must actually mean it. Whisper, that man was trash.'

She took a deep breath. 'You know, I thought that too, long ago. But the truth is, Deacon, he never did die. He went and became a decent, wonderful person.'

'You're mental. Completely batshit.' He extended both hands, waiting for her to take them, and pulled her down to sit on his lap. 'Give me a little time, all right? How does Nick sound as a fall-back plan?'

Kalyna made a face. 'Nah. Valentine, though? Sounds better, I think.'

'All right. Valentine. Aw, hell, maybe I can get myself to agree with Connor. I promise nothing, though.'

Running a hand over his clean-shaven skull, Kalyna plucked the almost ever-present shades from his face and smiled. 'Thanks, love.'