"Oh, I'd rather stay in my tower for the most part," Merlin explains lightly, "but in this case, well, I couldn't resist getting in on a little of the action myself!"

And he'd arguably been needed. Most things the folks at Chaldea could handle themselves, with maybe a little indirect aid from time to time, but Tiamat was on a whole other level. But typically speaking, Merlin tended to stay shut away in Avalon as much as possible.

"Of course," he adds with a bit of a sly look in her direction, "I might occasionally make an exception for a lovely lady, as well."