"I'll send out the word that there's someone among us who is to be treated as a guest," he promised, inclining his head at her a bit. "I must say, Rayna, your entire situation never fails to baffle me. How do you two get on with you traveling all the time with Lily and him only visiting so sporadically?"
Not that he minded the presence of the lovechild in his midst; Rayna lived up to her name, consistently providing him amusement and joy, as did her child Lily. Lily was only the second child to be brought up in the carnival, Rain of course being the first. And look what's happened to him, Arkady's mind thought automatically, though he rebuked it sharply for the disloyalty.
"Perhaps she could assist one of the game barkers... one of the more even-tempered ones," he said thoughtfully. "Faelan might not mind. I would not pair her with anyone who would be tempted to... be less than nurturing to her," he assured her, thinking of the sirens, of Dasha perhaps. "Or Railesh... if she isn't afraid of his big snakes, he might like a little helper. Perhaps Bettleby. He is so cheerful, and always dressed in costume..."