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Sekhmet let one thought rise and settle. "It is about the lesser vampire. I will talk to him later."

The system remained ready.

He did not wait. He asked, "What about Lily?"

The answer came much faster this time.

[Ding! SYSTEM Notification: Target Lily remains stable.

Transformation continues.

No major change detected since the previous report.]

"No change."

That line tightened something in him and eased something else at the same time. He did not like the waiting time. He hated not being beside her already. But stable was still better than unknown, and the system would have told him if the blood womb had become dangerous or if the Cruoraphim transformation had turned toward completion.

No change yet. He would have to live with that. For now.

Sekhmet stood from the bed at last and crossed toward the washing basin. The water was cool. The cloth folded neatly. A maid had already prepared everything among the morning chaos because of course she had to do her duty.

He washed the last of sleep from his face and neck, then paused with both hands braced lightly on the edge of the basin, looking at his reflection in the mirror.

He looked better than he had the night before. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Chaos energy nearly restored. Body steadier. No hollow sharpness under the eyes. Still tired in ways the face did not fully hide.

And now burdened with one fresh absurdity in the form of Bat Bat’s transformation.

He dried his face slowly, then went through the rest of the motions of dressing properly. Nothing ceremonial now. Nothing too relaxed either. Functional morning clothing, dark and fitted enough to move in, respectable enough for house eyes. He fastened the last layer and then took at the communication stone.

It remained quiet in his palm. No third attempt.

He fed a touch of energy into it and called Raka back.

The reply came quickly enough to say much all by itself.

"Master."

Raka’s voice carried the roughness of a man already awake, already moving, and possibly already irritated by several things before breakfast.

"Where are you?" Sekhmet asked without a preamble.

A very short pause from Raka. Then the answer came, "On the way."

No mention of problems.

Sekhmet’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Did you meet the man I sent?"

"Yes."

That answer came cleanly.

No complaints. No accusation. No immediate report of disaster.

He went on, "And."

Raka answered, "He is with us."

Still no mention of anything that had happened between the lesser vampire and Raka’s men. Not the misunderstanding. Not a fight. Not resistance. Raka was choosing to keep his own embarrassment to himself.

Sekhmet understood something must have happened but decided not to dig yet.

"Do not come to the house."

The line on the other side went quiet.

Then Raka said, "Where?"

"Go to the Dawn auction house," Sekhmet said. "Wait there. I will come to you."

That answer took almost no thought from Raka.

"Yes, Master."

Good. Efficient. No wasted questions.

Sekhmet added, "Bring the one I sent."

"Yes."

"And keep your men under control."

This time Raka’s silence lasted a little longer.

Not insulted.

Measured.

Then, "We will go to the Dawn auction house."

That was enough to answer.

Sekhmet cut the link and slipped the stone away.

One problem aligned. Not solved. Aligned.

He took one last look around the room then and headed for the door. The house outside had fully entered this morning now.

Servants moved with open purpose. Footsteps crossed the halls. Somewhere in the distance, Bat Bat’s voice rose briefly and then cut off, which meant Elena was close enough to regulate her volume. Also good.

He went downstairs.

The lower sitting room carried the layered order of a house pretending nothing extraordinary had happened in it since then, which meant it looked almost offensively peaceful. Light came through the side windows in soft squares. Tea had been set out. Two maids crossed with folded clothes and immediately bowed when they saw him.

And there, sitting on one of the sofas with all the restless dignity of a creature trying very hard to pretend she had always belonged in furniture this size, was Bat Bat.

She was dressed Properly, if not entirely comfortably.

Someone —Elena, most likely, or a maid under direct threat— had chosen a simple long house dress in soft dark fabric with sleeves fitted close enough not to flap and a neckline high enough to protect the emotional health of the household. Her hair had been brushed. Not tamed, exactly.

Bat Bat’s hair seemed to contain a lingering personal rebellion against control. But brushed enough that the wildness now looked deliberate rather than feral.

She looked up the moment he entered.

Then immediately crossed her arms.

"You are late."

Sekhmet stopped before the room and looked at her. "I was busy with something."

"Yes," Bat Bat said. "Before that I was taken away by a hostile group of jealous women."

Three maids nearby all developed extremely professional expressions and refused to react.

Sekhmet came closer.

Bat Bat sat straighter. "Also they dressed me with entirely too many opinions."

"That was necessary."

"I disagree."

"That is expected."

Bat Bat huffed. Still, despite the outrage, she looked... brighter. More settled in herself than she had at the first moment of awakening in his bed.

Human size still sat awkwardly on her in some ways. She moved like someone who had not yet accepted where all the big limbs belonged. But there was no fear in her now. Only rapid adaptation and the complete certainty that the world would eventually make room for her current form because obviously it should.

Elena sat in the chair opposite and watched the exchange over a cup of tea.

"Going out?" she asked.

"Yes."

She nodded once. "Good. Eat before leaving."

So she had already guessed he would go out.

Of course she had.

Sekhmet looked toward the table where a small meal had been left for him. It was efficient and simple. Enough to keep the body moving. He sat and ate without making a ceremony of it.

Bat Bat watched him with bright eyes, then looked down at her own hands, turning them once as though still slightly surprised by the length of her fingers.

"Do they feel strange," he asked.

Bat Bat looked up at once. "Everything feels strange."

That answer was more honest than dramatic.

She continued, "The couch is bigger but smaller. My ears are not where they should be. My hands are very good at holding things but I still miss flying. The floor is too close and too far." She frowned. "Also big clothes are a conspiracy."

Elena said, "That part will improve if you stop fighting fabric like it insulted your ancestors."

Bat Bat made a face at her and then, remembering how the last direct disagreement had gone, changed the face into a more respectful sort of offense.

Sekhmet finished half the food before speaking again. "Do you understand what happened?"

Bat Bat considered that.

"I got smarter."

"Yes."

"I got bigger."

"Yes."

"I became magnificent."

Elena closed her eyes for one second.

Sekhmet almost smiled.

"Mostly correct," he said.

Bat Bat brightened. "See."

Then she leaned toward him slightly. "Do I stay like this forever?"

"For now, probably."

That pleased her. "Good. Being eye-level with everyone is useful. I can judge them more equally."

Elena’s mouth moved faintly. "That was not the intended educational outcome."

Bat Bat looked deeply unrepentant.

A few moments passed in relative peace after that. Not full peace. Bat Bat’s presence made that impossible. But the kind of peace that existed when a household had already survived its first morning disaster and was not yet aware of the second one still building.

Sekhmet rose once he was done.

He wiped his hands, adjusted the fall of his sleeve, and looked toward Elena. "I am going out."

Bat Bat reacted before Elena did.

"I want to come." Of course she did.