Maggie used to want to walk into a story, but she outgrew that in Teleios, and this was never the genre she intended.

Deadly serious, she tells him, "I won't be safe here, period, from what you've just told me. That being the case, I'm certainly not leaving you unless you insist."

It's a struggle to conjure up even a weak joke, so the best she can manage is, "You're stuck with me, Duke." Even then, her smile only lasts a moment before she sobers again.

"And if there's anything I can do to make things easier on you, I want to."