They turned quickly. Fergus stood there, hands on his hips and looking displeased.

“Hi, Dad,” Carol said.

Crystal stood up, hiding the ring behind her back. “Hi, Dad. We were just…”

“We were doing t’ai chi,” Valkyrie said. “It’s very relaxing.”

Carol nodded quickly. “We’ve been very tense lately.”

“Girls,” Fergus said, “your mother wants you back at the house. Go on, now.”

The twins glanced at each other, then Crystal stepped in front of Valkyrie in the most unconvincing attempt at nonchalance ever witnessed. Valkyrie took her ring back, and Crystal turned to her.

“Thanks for trying to teach us,” she said.

“No problem.”

The twins walked off, leaving Valkyrie and Fergus alone on the sand. His eyes never left her.

“How’s your mother?” he asked.

“She’s OK. It was more the shock than—”

“How’s your dad?”

“Uh, he’s OK.”

“The baby?”

“Alice’s fine too.”

Fergus nodded. “And how are you, Stephanie? Are you keeping out of trouble?”

“So far.”

“And what’s that you were showing the girls? T’ai chi, was it?”

“Yep. It’s a martial art, but it’s very gentle and—”

“I know what t’ai chi is, Stephanie. I’ve seen people do it in the park. And that wasn’t what you were teaching them.”

“Well, I, I might have been doing it wrong…”

His next words were angry. “What gives you the right?”

She blinked. “Uh… I’m sorry?”

“You heard me. What gives you the right?”

“I’m not entirely sure what you mean.”

He stepped forward quickly, closing the gap between them. His fists were clenched and his face was red. For a moment, Valkyrie even thought he was going to hit her.

He snarled, “What gives you the right to teach my daughters that filthy magic?”

She stared. “What?”

“They’re my daughters!” he snapped. “They’re good girls! I’ve kept them out of the kind of trouble you get into and I will be damned if I’m going to let you drag them down with you.”

She took a step back. “Fergus, what the hell are you talking about?”

“Don’t play stupid!” he roared, then immediately looked around, making sure no one else had heard. When he spoke again, his voice was quieter but no less intense. “You’re not stupid, Stephanie. You’re not a stupid girl. We all know it. We all know how smart you are. My girls aren’t like that. My girls need someone to look out for them. That’s my job.”

“I’m not getting them into anything,” said Valkyrie.