Mrs. Mallory smiles at me. “I’ll stay around and give you both a hot meal. Maybe between the two of you, you can convince the madam to come down and eat something.”

“Thanks, Mrs. M. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

She beams at me and is about to leave when she pauses. “A lot of packmates have been dropping by to see the madam. They heard that she lost someone important to her during her fight with Beruth Sanguinite, and they want to offer condolences. They’ve been ...