You’ll see,” Mother assured her. “The fish will be just as friendly and the waves just as fresh in the new world the door makers find for us.

Benny pushed a slow breath through his teeth. “Is it so terrible to believe in something?

The smile on his face said, pure and simple, those honey cakes came with a price. And his price was answers.

It felt like betrayal, finding joy even in little things when Willow was in danger.

The villagers marked the time in two ways: before the swamp and after. What came before was good. And all that came after was not.