As I looked through other colors of yarn, Seraphine leaned in toward my ear and whispered, “Elliott is kind of cute, isn’t he? ”

I wanted to make sure I had enough yellow yarn to finish the baby blanket I’d started crocheting without having to come back to the store, so I grabbed several skeins and put the guards who Soren had insisted come with me to use.

Their names were Elliott and Duke—I’d asked. They’d looked surprised that I’d wanted to know, but I wasn’t ...