XAHEN.The small one who'd been sitting in the corner with her mouth open had recovered first.An hour in, and she was currently hanging off my left arm with both hands, her feet off the ground, swinging herself back and forth with the absolute confidence of someone who had never once considered that this might not be safe.Two boys were chasing each other in circles around me, which meant my shadows had to keep adjusting to avoid knocking them over… which they found hilarious of course. A girl with two lopsided braids had planted herself directly in front of me and was telling me something very important about a bird she'd seen that morning, and she had no intention of stopping until I acknowledged every detail."It had four eyes," she said, holding up four fingers."They all do," I said.She looked at me like I'd just ruined something for her. “No they don’t! Some have three!”“Those are rare.” I whispered nicely.The door opened.Hale stepped inside and stopped.Irritation sparked
Read more