The little girl nods.
This isn’t real. Do what you need to do. Pretend you’re fine. “What do you like?” When given the choice, most kids choose something filled with sugar.
She stares down at her feet.
“Cookies?” Daria liked…No. No. It can’t be.
“Like they have on the television?”
Has she never had a cookie? “Even better.” Where was she that she’s never had a cookie? Are we looking at a kid who escaped a cult? We’ve had a few that have escaped from cults.
Gemma starts to sway on her feet.
All of a sudden, Talon is by my side. “Hi, Gemma. My name is Talon.”
“That’s a funny name.” She wiggles her nose at him but doesn’t shrink back.
“It is.”
She sways a little more. Riverie tries to stabilize her, but the little one is fading fast. Gemma needs more than food. Medical care and a home are priorities.
A home. How can a child who could be Daria’s mirror image at that age go anywhere but home with me? But we don’t do that here. Kids not in their teens will end up in foster care. They need a stable place and family.
Everyone in the world has a twin. Daria’s is just this child.
“You look tired. When my daughter Milia was tired, I’d lift her up and put her on my shoulders so that she could reach up and touch the sky. Would you like to touch the sky?”
“I’ve never touched the sky.” Her head turns up, and her nose wiggles just like Daria’s used to.
Talon holds out two giant hands, and Gemma stumbles right into them.
As he lifts her, her shirt rides up a tiny bit, and the world swirls around me. It can’t be. It just can’t be. The scars from being whipped I’ve seen before, but that brand…Gemma shouldn’t…No one should ever bear that brand again.
That means…
“Nonno.” Hope must have seen what I just did.
Talon turns around, and Gemma giggles on his shoulder. But the lion just turned deadly.
I lean over and whisper to Riverie, “You need to walk away and pretend you’ve never seen this little girl.”
She nods. Thankfully, people are used to weirdness around here. “Should I get Maddox?”
No, my entire body screams. This is a secret I’ve kept from everyone. But Gemma could bring danger to Willow Street. “Tell him to meet us in the back room of the Med Center.”
“The back room?” Riverie’s jaw drops.
“Yes.” We need to protect Willow Street.
Talon’s voice is almost a breath when he asks, “What?”
“Hope, go get a few cookies and a sandwich from inside. Your grandfather and I are going to help Gemma fly over to the Medical Center.”
“We’ll fly around here until Hope is ready.” There’s no give in Talon’s voice. “And call your grandmother, Hope.”
I open my mouth to stop him, but the words don’t come out. Temperance Vincenti knows how to keep her mouth shut. Our doctors understand how the streets work. This is on a whole different level.
Gemma giggles as Talon walks the perimeter.
