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arm, and they headed down the stairs and into the Crossed Star.
    Jim was at the bar, and he looked surprised to see Chuck and Ivy. “I thought you needed some time.”
    Ivy smiled. “He needs work more. I will be in the dark corner.” She turned Chuck’s head and kissed him in front of his friend and boss, uncaring that Jim was staring in surprise.
    Ivy slipped into her corner booth, and in less than two minutes, there was a Crossroads-colada in front of her with an umbrella in it and a cherry cut in the shape of a heart on the edge of the glass. Ivy blushed and sipped at the drink, smiling when it was still alcohol free.
    She got back to her reading list and made notes in her book. She completed three books for review before her pencil and reader were taken carefully from her hands.
    “You need a break.”
    Chuck smiled at her, and there was heat in his eyes.
    “I think you are the one who needs a break. Jim came down then?” She peered past him to find Jim at the bar and Lee perched on a stool sipping something that looked involved.
    “He is making an effort to give me time with you, and Jim is not a man who compromises easily.” He held out his hand. “Come on, you can put your things behind the bar.”
    “How long have we been here?”
    “Four hours or so. Are you enjoying yourself?” He tucked her bag behind the bar and took her hand to lead her out into the street outside.
    “I am. I have gotten more work done today than I have in weeks. I have no idea what I will do once I finish the reviewing backlog.” She swung his hand a little and skipped at his side.
    “You are in good spirits.”
    “I am. It has been a very nice day.” Colour came into her cheeks, and she looked at the people slowly entering the streets. “It comes alive at night, doesn’t it?”
    “It is traditional, though here, we don’t really need to stand on ceremony. People come and go as they will, but societal norms are hard to escape.”
    “What are you escaping by being here?”
    He shrugged. “A life of solitude, a life of hiding. I never knew my parents, and my first memories are of being on display behind glass. The forced shifting locked my eyes, teeth and tongue. Learning to speak was an effort, but I managed it.”
    She was quiet and then she asked, “Who got you away from it?”
    “A clan of cranes took me in as a teen. The circus stopped in their town, they slipped me a note, and I shifted into a small garter snake that Mr. Talifor lifted off with. I remained in the shape of the small snake for weeks until the circus was three cities away and their agents had ceased to look for me.”
    “They wanted you back.”
    “I was worth quite a bit of money.” His tone was flat.
    “Oh. Well, that is…horrible.” She moved close to him and gripped his arm with her free hand. “I hereby declare that I want you for the same reasons you want me. If you have something sinister in mind, let me know so I can concoct a sly plan of my own.”
    She startled him into laughing, and Ivy breathed a little easier. His beginnings had been dark and that was probably why he fixated on happy endings and true love. You always wanted what you never had.
    She lifted his hand and trailed her fingers over the scorpion tattooed on his arm. “Where did you get this?”
    “It was done by one of the clowns at the circus. He marked me on my birthday so they could keep track of my age. The forms meant something to him, not to me.”
    “They marked you as a child?”
    “Yes.”
    “Damn. I am walking in minefields. I am shutting up now.”
    He put his arm around her. “You will learn it all eventually, and you have given me a new task to set myself.”
    “What?”
    “We are having a new start, so I will begin with a new skin. It might be a little disturbing, but these old marks are leaving one way or the other.”
    She stopped in place. “What? Normal snake shifters can’t do that.”
    “I am not a normal snake shifter. I can take the shape