"It’s my night," Celeste said, her voice dropping several degrees. "We had a schedule."

"Schedules are for humans." Maki’s hand landed on my thigh. "Familiars operate on need. And I need my master right now."

I grabbed Maki’s wrist before her hand could venture higher. "Enough. Transform or leave."

Her lower lip jutted out. "But I want a treat. You promised me yummy milk if I was good."

Celeste sat up suddenly. "Yummy milk?"

"She means—"

"I know what she means." Celeste’s face was flushed, her eyes glittering with frost. "Your familiar is quite direct."

Maki grinned, showing her pointed canines. "Life’s too short for games. Even for immortal cats."

"You promised her..." Celeste couldn’t even finish the sentence.

"I did not," I said firmly. "Maki has a creative interpretation of conversations."

"He kissed me earlier," Maki said proudly. "With tongue."

Celeste’s eyes widened. A thin layer of frost spread across the bedsheets.

"To get her to put on pants," I explained quickly. "It was bribery."

"Oh, so you bribe all your pets with kisses?" Celeste’s voice was arctic.

"Not a pet," Maki corrected. "Familiar. Bond-partner. Future mother of his kittens."

"Absolutely not," I snapped.

Maki shrugged. "We’ll see."

Celeste stood abruptly, the temperature in the room plummeting. "I should go."

"Cel, wait." I grabbed her hand. It was like touching an ice cube. "Don’t let her ruin this."

Celeste looked down at me, conflicting emotions playing across her face. She glanced at Maki, who was now smugly sprawled across the spot Celeste had vacated.

"It seems I’m interrupting your... feeding time."

"She’s messing with you. On purpose." I gave Maki a hard look. "And she’s about to transform into a cat and sleep on the floor."

Maki stuck out her tongue. "Make me."

I sighed deeply. "Final warning, Maki."

Her ears flattened against her head. "You’re no fun when the ice queen is here."

"Transform. Now."

She held my gaze for a moment longer, testing my resolve, then dramatically sighed. "Fine." Her form blurred and shrank, golden light enveloping her until a small black cat sat on my bed, twin tails lashing with irritation.

"Better." I patted the bed beside me, looking up at Celeste. "Come back."

She hesitated. "You have a very... complicated household."

"Tell me about it."

Slowly, she sat back down, maintaining a careful distance. Maki immediately stood and padded across the bed, deliberately stepping on my lap to get to Celeste. To my surprise, she curled up in Celeste’s lap instead of mine.

Celeste froze. "What is she doing?"

"Being manipulative," I said. "She’s trying to get on your good side now."

Maki blinked innocently up at Celeste, then began to purr, the sound rumbling through her small body. Despite herself, Celeste’s lips twitched upward.

"She is rather cute like this," she admitted.

"Don’t let it fool you. She’s a menace in any form."

Maki purred louder, kneading Celeste’s thigh with her paws. Celeste cautiously stroked behind Maki’s ears, earning an even louder purr.

"See?" I said, moving closer to them both. "Much better."

Celeste relaxed slightly. "She’s very warm."

"Side effect of the lightning magic."

We settled back in to watch the movie, Celeste leaning against me once more, Maki curled in her lap like the world’s most innocent creature. I knew better, but I wasn’t about to look a gift cat in the mouth.

As the movie progressed, Celeste’s hand found mine, our fingers intertwining. She tilted her face up to mine during a quieter scene.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"For what?" 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"This." She gestured vaguely at the tablet, at our position, at everything. "Normal things."

I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You deserve normal things, Cel."

Her eyes softened at the nickname. She leaned up, pressing her lips gently against mine. The kiss was sweet, unhurried. Her hand came up to cup my cheek, her thumb stroking my skin.

When she pulled back, her eyes were luminous in the dim light. "I like when you call me that."

"What, Cel? Not Winter Queen or Ice Princess?"

She shook her head. "Just Cel. Like I’m a real person, not a title or a position."

Something tightened in my chest again. "You are a real person."

"Not to most people." Her gaze dropped. "To my sister, I’m the heir. To the VHC, I’m a resource. To the public, I’m a symbol."

I tilted her chin back up. "To me, you’re just Cel."

Her smile was small but genuine. "And what is Cel to you, exactly?"

That was a dangerous question. One with too many possible answers, most of them complicated by the five soul bonds and the System’s machinations. But looking at her now, vulnerable and open in a way she rarely allowed herself to be, I couldn’t give her anything but honesty.

"Someone important," I said. "Someone I want to protect. Someone who makes me think maybe I’m not as much of a scumbag as I thought."

Her eyes widened slightly. "High praise from the Stray Dog."

"Don’t let it go to your head."

She laughed softly, then leaned in to kiss me again. This one was deeper, her hand sliding into my hair to pull me closer. I wrapped my arm around her waist, careful of my still-tender ribs.

Maki made a disgruntled noise between us, squished by our proximity. She jumped off Celeste’s lap and onto the floor, then transformed back into her human form with a shimmer of golden light.

"If you’re going to be boring and just kiss, I’m leaving," she announced. "Call me when you get to the good part I’m going to natty’s room."

She sauntered out of the room, completely naked again, her tails swaying behind her.

Celeste stared after her. "She’s..."

"The worst," I finished.

"Actually, I was going to say ’growing on me.’" Celeste’s mouth curved into a small smile. "She’s very direct. It’s almost refreshing after a lifetime of political double-speak."

"Don’t tell her that. She’s insufferable enough already."

Celeste laughed, the sound light and musical. She settled back against me, her head on my shoulder. "Now, where were we in the movie?"

I unpaused it, but my attention was divided between the action on screen and the woman in my arms. Celeste traced lazy patterns on my chest as we watched, her touch gentle and oddly soothing.

By the time the credits rolled, she was half-asleep against me, her breathing slow and deep.

"Did you like it?" I asked quietly.

She nodded. "It was wonderful." She tilted her face up to mine, eyes heavy-lidded. "Would you mind if I stayed? Just to sleep."

I thought about my ribs, about how moving would hurt, about how five separate women would have opinions about this development tomorrow morning.

"Stay," I said, pulling her closer.

She smiled sleepily and settled against me, her head tucked under my chin. "Thank you for tonight, Satori."

"Anytime, Winter Queen."

She pinched my side gently. "Cel," she corrected.

"Anytime, Cel."