Even better than his optimism was the fact that he seemed to just automatically include her. Ariadne really liked being part of a group. A pack, as it were. She was Alastrian through and through. They relied on each other. Depended on one another.

She hadn't had a big family in a long time.

"We could," she said, giving him a solemn nod. "We really could."

A pause.

"I thought you said Mako was the name of your copilot?"