“Viri?” she said, crossing the floor, then crouching down at the door to the punishment room. She tried the latch once, just to be thorough, but of course it was locked. She knocked lightly, then waited, surprised when there was no responding scuttle. No high-pitched voice saying her name, no tears. She pressed her ear to the wood. “Viri?”

She heard a strange sound then: a muffled, metallic screech, followed by a thud. “Viri?” she repeated, confused.

Then, at the sound of scampering paws, she sprang to her feet, and two things happened at once. First, she heard boots on the stairs. Second, her mother’s fox appeared out of nowhere, standing braced before her, his glimmering eyes catching the light of her lamp. She had the strange sense that he’d fallen from the sky.

That was it, then. Now Lovisa was going to have to make a show of her liaison with the guard, and just hope the fox hadn’t seen her trying to get into that room. Crossing to the stairs, she turned out her light. “Pervert,” she whispered savagely at the little creature, a pointless jab, because foxes didn’t understand language and could only read the mind of the person to whom they were bonded. But she knew he’d be able to see this next part well enough, even in the dark.

“What did you say, miss?” whispered the guard as he stepped into the attic.

She pressed herself against him. They both had unlit lamps that clattered together; they put them down clumsily, kissing and touching each other. Lovisa’s main objective was to give the fox the right kind of show, exactly the misbehavior that would convince her mother that she’d come to the attic for this very purpose. She thought they should probably stay there, kissing, for a little while, but that they needn’t do much more. The guard didn’t try to press her; he was much less grabby than she was used to. But she felt him grow hard, and she heard the soft, desiring noises he made. His hands were gentle. Wishful, but cautious. It was different from anyone else she’d kissed. His restraint gave her room to feel something. When she’d estimated that they’d kissed for the right amount of time, it was actually hard to stop.

“That’s enough for now,” she said.

“Yes, miss,” he said breathlessly. “Of course, miss.”

She picked up her lamp and handed him his, motioning for him to descend the steps. Then, after he’d gone, she lit her lamp again briefly, to verify that the fox was still in the room. Once she’d spotted him under a table, his eyes flashing up at her, she stepped onto the stairs and shut the door on him tightly. At the bottom of the stairs, she shut that door too.