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

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.

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

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

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.