As the days passed, they became weeks. Those came and went, leading to months. Months were no different and led to years passing by.

The town of Tosa was different than it once was. It was still a great place filled with happy people thanks to the efforts of its leadership but, like all thriving towns, it had grown.

From the Summoner’s Tower, the beginnings of a city could be seen. The walls had been knocked down and erected further out, taking up some of the land that was once forest. More carts and wagons came and went as it became a hub of sorts for everything this side of Eskretet.

Trevor, Adabelle, Wayne, Rashie, and Mr. Tiggles looked out over this sight from the Summoner’s Tower with content hearts. The city was not immune to change, and neither were they.

Trevor’s hand was set upon Adabelle’s. The years had been kind to both of them, though that wasn’t surprising. He had learned that Summoned aged slower than their native counterparts. It wasn’t by much, giving them roughly an extra twenty or thirty years, but every moment he could have by her side was one he would take.

“You don’t have to always be playing with that, you know,” Adabelle said with a smile as she looked down at their hands. Trevor followed her gaze and noticed that he was absently rotating the ring on his wife’s left hand. It was a simple band with inlaid stones, while his was a solid band. He stopped playing with it.

The man smiled as he looked at it. “Sorry, I can’t help it,” he said. “I always get nervous when you’re about to summon someone.”

“Just be glad there’s someone normal around here so your devil woman isn’t the first thing they see,” Wayne jovially joked. He had more salt than pepper in his hair at this point, but he was still as young at heart as he ever was. Dwarves didn’t change much over the years, but everyone had the sneaking suspicion that the Texan would be the same no matter what he had chose to be.

“Still better than the one time Rashie sat in,” Adabelle said, looking over the dwarf to look at the other woman.

At one point, she had been the smallest of them. A short child with not a care in the world and an attitude that she could take on anything and come out on top. The attitude, at least, survived.

Her light blue scales had become several shades darker, but that was not the biggest change. Rashie was now the tallest member of the Tosa Summoned at just over six and a half feet tall. The years had seen her sprout up into a woman. One with large, sharp teeth and a dangerously long tail, but a woman nonetheless.

“Yeah, I’m never doing that again,” Rashie said with a deep chuckle as she stroked a seemingly ageless Mr. Tiggles on the railing. “But I’ve got plans later tonight, anyway.”

“What, going out with that punk again?” Wayne snorted.

“Yep,” she snorted back, chomping her teeth once. "If you must know, I’m hanging out with Rupert."

“I just don’t like how he looks at you.”

“What, like he’s terrified, yet intrigued?” Trevor asked before giving her a sidelong glance. “Didn’t you break his arm when you were both children? You must be pretty glad he didn’t hold a grudge.”

Rashie didn’t say anything, instead looking away as if something in the distance caught her eye.

“Yeah, he looks at Rashie just like the way you used to look at Addy,” Wayne confirmed.

“What do you mean used to?” Adabelle asked lightly, leaning against her husband as she chuckled.

“Ugh, we’re just hanging out, old man,” Rashie said, rolling her eyes.

“Just make sure you don’t become the catch of the day. That’s all I’m saying,” he replied. When Rashie glared at him, the dwarf held his hands up. “Alright, alright, do whatever you want, kiddo.”

“She could do worse,” Trevor offered with a smile. “You hang out with whoever makes you happy, Rashie.”Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“So long as it’s not going to destroy part of the town,” Adabelle clarified. “We don’t want a repeat of the Logan Lake incident now, do we.”

“That was one time, Addy, and I apologized for it,” the shark woman whined.

“You did,” the demonkin agreed with a nod. “And it also helped that you pitched in on rebuilding the docks. That went a long way to mending a lot of fences.”

“That was mostly Deputy Dad here,” Rashie admitted. “But I’ll definitely take the credit.”

“Hey, I’m Sheriff,” he corrected, tapping the golden star badge pinned onto his chest. “Trevor here’s the deputy.”

“You keep saying that! I have set foot in the Tosa Adventurer’s HQ exactly once to help you all move stuff inside,” Trevor complained, throwing a hand up. “I’m not even an adventurer, how can I be the deputy?”

“Because it’s fun riling you up, that’s how,” Wayne chortled.

“That reminds me, don’t you have a meeting with some of the adventurers from Eskretet today?” Adabelle asked. “And isn’t that meeting soon?”

The dwarf groaned. “The things I do for my city.”

“I’ll make sure he gets there, Addy,” Rashie said, leaning down to throw an arm around the shorter man. “Come on, let’s try to get you down these stairs in one piece, old man.”

“Alright, that’s enough out of you, kid,” Wayne said with a barked laugh. “Go on, get.”

With a toothy grin, Rashie quickly and carefully hugged Trevor and Adabelle from behind before scooping up Mr. Tiggles and rushing off towards the stairs. “Come on, Wayne!”

“Meow!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” he shouted before turning to the ones staying. “Y’all be careful, you hear?”

“We always are, Wayne,” Adabelle said with a smile.

“Well, now you need to be extra careful,” he warned. “Still against it, but I know you’re going to do what you’re going to do so that’s all I’m going to say in the matter.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this,” Trevor said, squeezing his wife’s hand. “I’ve got a few bulwarks in my inventory just in case, and you know how quick I am to deploy them.”

Wayne nodded. “Good. I can always count on you to have something to hide behind. Usually it’s Addy, but the bulwarks work better in this case.”

“Lady, my honor is being sullied,” Trevor complained dramatically.

“You’re fine, Trevor,” she said with a laugh. “Go on and get out of here, Wayne. You know Rashie will come back up here and carry you down if you take too long.”

“I sure will!” Rashie shouted from somewhere along the staircase.

“She just had to go and grow up, didn’t she?” he grumbled. “We’re looking forward to meeting them, so feel free to stop by headquarters when you’re done, yeah?”

“We’ll see how they are first,” Trevor said.

“Bye, Wayne.”

“Good luck,” he said before heading to the stairs and taking them down two at a time.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Adabelle gave her husband a devilish grin. “Lailah’s heading up the adventurers this time around,” she said joyfully. “I told her to mess with him at least a little.”

“You’re incorrigible,” Trevor laughed.

“Perhaps. A little bit, I admit, but only because I have someone to fall back on when I get in too deep,” she replied easily.

“Always. I’ll always be there for you,” Trevor said. “I mean, I got you to marry me, didn’t I? You agreed to it. There were witnesses and everything.”

“Oh, yes, how could I forget?” the demonkin chuckled. “Could have done without most of those so called witnesses, but I guess that’s what I get for being the Mayor of Tosa and what you get for telling Klar that we were getting married. Wait, no, that was all you, wasn’t it?”

Trevor put his hands up. “How was I supposed to know that minotaurs take weddings so seriously?” he asked, only to receive a light glare from Adabelle. “Okay, yes, it was more of a Klar thing than anything else. At least we know he’ll send gobs of presents our way as soon as he gets the news.”

“Not that we need it. But, I suppose it is a tradition on your Earth, so I’ll allow it,” she teased.

As Adabelle turned around, Trevor gave her a concerned smile as he placed a hand on her back and the other on her stomach. The demonkin’s tail wrapped comfortably around his wrist.

“I already know what you’re going to say, but are you sure you’re going to be okay?” he asked gently.

“Oh, not you, too,” she complained. “I’m not even showing yet, and you’ve been way too protective. You know that I can take care of myself. That’s not a question, by the way; I know that you know.”

“I’m allowed to be worried,” he defended, not taking offense to what she said at all. “But I’ll try to tone it down after you’re done with the summoning.”

“That’s all I ask. I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunities to dote on me later, just not while I’m working.”

Trevor leaned in to kiss his wife, pulling her in close, and Adabelle allowed it. He had since learned that her Strength was leaps and bounds above his, but he always appreciated when she let him move her. Now that he had more levels under his belt, things were beginning to get more even, but such equality was still a long way off.

Trevor pulled his lips away from hers. Not by much, he was still close enough to nuzzle her nose with his while he stared into her stunning orange eyes. “I love you,” he whispered.

“And I love you,” she replied just as softly, unable to help her smile even after all these years.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

She shook her head before burying it in his shoulder. “I’m about to summon someone today, and I deserve some friendly contact,” she replied, her voice muffled. “Maybe a few more minutes?”

Returning her smile, Trevor nodded. “Take as many minutes as you need, lady,” he answered, just like he always had, and just like he always would.