"I am thoroughly boring, love. You're right." He was still smiling, getting genuine enjoyment out of their verbal teasing. It was one of the reasons he enjoyed spending time with her, after all. She was a challenge in many ways, and he'd never been able to walk away from one, whether it was a puzzle or a particularly difficult person.

Illyana was a little bit of both, wrapped around a core of vulnerability which among other things, made him want to protect her. The more he got to know her, the more he understood her brother and his desire to deny what had happened to her, to preserve her innocence. There was something slightly innocent about her, and that thought actually brought a question to mind.

"I think I'll skip the deals, love. I could use artifacts." It sounded sinister just voicing it. "Do you do white magic?" Could she?