Thinking of Silas and his greed, a vindictive pleasure bloomed in my chest. I would have offered to teach Maya no matter what, but knowing Silas was likely rolling in his grave was just the cherry on top.

  Maya all but vibrated with excitement, and Henry visibly relaxed, the tension in his shoulders easing at my easy agreement. “Given the patience I’ve seen you use with her so far, I don’t see you being a bad teacher. I can pay you, though not much—”

  I shook my head, cutting him off. “Don’t even think about it. I’m teaching her, and you’re not paying me a single coin for it.”

  His scowl said he was gearing up to argue, but I swiped a hand through the air pointedly. “Nope, not hearing it. You’re leading an army to take down the scum of the world. It’s a raw deal that you don’t make much coin for doing that, so let’s just call this good karma, alright? I’m one hundred percent sure my patron would agree.”

  Time nodded, his eyes warm with approval as he added, “Nikolas is correct. Karma would wholeheartedly support this. She is a curious spirit, one who deeply encourages that in others—especially children.” He flicked a glance toward me, his tone gaining a touch of amusement. “Besides, Nikolas is every bit as stubborn as Karma herself. Accept his offer and save your breath.”

  Henry looked between us for a tense second before sighing, his shoulders sinking in defeat. “Fine, but I’d like to pay you back somehow.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You do realize you’re training not only me but Thomas to fight, right? That’s an important life skill that’ll come in handy. If not paying me bothers you that much, then consider it an exchange of information.”

  At least that seemed to settle him.

  “I suppose you have a point. Thank you, all the same.”

  Turning to Maya, he smiled, his expression softening with warmth. “It looks like you’ll be learning to read, Sweetling. What do we say to Nikolas?”

  In a blur, she jumped up and—before I could do more than blink—tackled me. The sudden weight knocked me into Time. I shot him an apologetic look, but he only smiled and shook his head.

  I can see why Karma chose you. The thought of charging a fee never even crossed your mind, did it?

  Heat crept up my neck, and I huffed, looking down at Maya. No, but education shouldn’t be something only the rich have. I don’t care what time I’m in. If I can help her learn, I’ll do it.

  Hell, I’d sort of taught the other kids during my brief stints in orphanages between foster homes. It wasn’t much—most of them weren’t there long enough to learn a lot—but they’d enjoyed storytime, and who was I to rip that away from them?

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Time’s fondness deepened, and he returned his attention to the journal, the tiniest smile curling his lips. Why does that not surprise me?

  Maya unburied her head from my chest enough to beam up at me, a wide smile stretching her face. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! Can we start tonight?”

  I ruffled her hair and carefully eased her out of my lap. “You’re welcome. But let’s keep reading to daylight hours, okay? You need sleep, or you’ll be grouchy on the road, and natural light is better on your eyes than reading by the fire.”

  She pouted for a second before shaking it off and skipping back to Henry, still buzzing with excitement as she plopped into his lap. “I’m going to learn to read, Adan!” She wiggled back and forth, and Henry chuckled, pulling her into a hug.

  “That you are. But you heard him—rest for now. Reading will come tomorrow.”

  Maya curled into him without complaint, still glowing with happiness. With a grin, I turned my focus back to the bag. Now I had yet another reason to search through it, and the sooner I started, the more progress I’d make before I inevitably had to sleep.

  Before I could dig in, Dominicus cleared his throat, drawing my attention. “If you are looking for a specific book, why not ask your familiar to go into the bag and find it for you?”

  He nodded toward Volpe, who had been lounging near the fire. At the mention of the bag, Volpe went from relaxed to tense as a bowstring, and I shook my head firmly.

  “I appreciate the suggestion, but Volpe hates the bag, and I wouldn’t ask him to go in. This is the longer way of doing things, but I’ll manage.”

  Volpe relaxed, rolling over to cuddle into my leg in thanks. As I reached down to pet him, I caught the approving looks Dominicus and Eleanor exchanged.

  “Admirable,” Dominicus said. “I would offer to help, but…” He trailed off and gestured vaguely to his eyes.

  I nodded. “I appreciate the thought. But you should focus on keeping watch or sleeping. I’ll get through this eventually.”

  Eleanor tilted her head, eyeing the bag curiously. “I’ve seen people separate books in enchanted bags. Perhaps you could picture the books you already know of in a separate area and pull from the rest?”

  I… hadn’t considered that. Maybe I should have, since magic was clearly involved.

  Digging my arm into the bag, I tried to visualize it—all the books I’d seen so far stacked neatly in a corner of a room, with a mountain of others off to the side.

  A tingle slid up my arm, but no weight settled in my palm.

  Flipping the bag over to test it, I imagined one of the books from the mountain falling out. It landed with a soft thud in front of me. When I looked at the cover, a grin stretched across my face.

  “Looks like it worked. Thanks, Eleanor!”

  This would save me hours of work.

  She waved off my thanks and settled in, her wings resting against her back like a massive feathered cloak. “It was hardly worth thanking me for. I’m glad it worked.”

  Sensing the quiet dismissal, I let the topic drop and focused on my now significantly easier task.

  Getting comfortable, I started sorting with renewed energy.

  With any luck, I’d make real headway tonight. Hopefully, I’d even find a child-friendly story somewhere in here…