Timber held up his hand for a high-five and she smacked his hand, grinning. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Canyon got on the Interstate, heading for Chicago, bypassing the rest of Serenity, driving fast.
Sage put the rest of the paste in her purse and looked at Canyon. It was time. She took his hand. “I—I haven’t told you something important. I have a daughter.”
He glanced at her, his face serious. “Cool,” he said, his voice hard to read. “How old is she?”
“Five, almost six,” she said carefully, studying him, wondering if what she was thinking could possibly be true.
“That’s a fun age.”
They sat in silence for a minute, until a sign came up on their right saying, ‘NOW LEAVING SERENITY.’
All thoughts left Sage’s mind as the sign zipped by. She twisted in her seat to watch it get smaller and smaller. She felt good and her mind was clear. There was no sign of the Tether.
She was doing it! She wasleaving Serenity.
She rolled down her window and stuck her head out shouting, “BYE SERENITY!”
She climbed most of the way out, and sat on the window edge, not caring that they were speeding down I-90 at breakneck speed. She shouted and whooped into the wind, banging on the top of the truck. Inside, Canyon grabbed ahold of one of her legs and Timber the other. She let them pull her back in the truck.
“Look at it,” she gushed, indicating the trees on one side of the Interstate and the pastures on the other. “It’s beautiful.”
“It looks the same for at least ten miles,” Timber said.
“And I love it!”
The exit for Blue Cut State Park came up quickly and Canyon took it, driving through the main entrance and following the road around to a small playground nestled between forest on three sides where two white passenger vans and a blue sedan were parked.
Sage’s mother sat behind the steering wheel of the blue sedan, applying lipstick. Sage pointed Canyon that way. Paige watched the truck suspiciously. Sage looked around the area until she saw Paisley on the swings with severalfoxenpositioned strategically around her. Canyon parked two stalls down from Paige, and Sage rolled down her window to greet her mother.
Paige threw a terrified look at Canyon saying, “Is that avod?” She didn’t wait for an answer, but instead rolled up her window, started the car and drove away, not looking at Sageonce. Sage watched her mother go, relieved to not have to make any introductions.
“That's my mom,” Sage said.
“She's lovely,” Canyon said, grinning.
“A treat,” Timber agreed. He craned his neck. “Honestly, she’s kinda hot.”
Canyon barked a laugh and Sage grabbed Timber by the shirt, hauling him over the seat, “Don’t you even think it!”
Timber raised both hands. “It was a joke—swear.”
Sage released him, shaking her head, not ready to laugh about that. She got out of the truck and realized Rosenvelt Van Boeson was sitting at a nearby picnic table, watching her.
Sage waved and smiled at Rosenvelt, then pointed him out to Canyon and Timber, but they were already looking at him, and, Sage suspected, discussing him inruhi. Did they know him? She gave Canyon a look. He blew her a kiss but stayed where he was. Sage headed for Rosenvelt. He got up, smiling broadly, holding out his hands to her.
“Here you are,” he said, a wide smile on his face, clasping her hand. “And the Tether is no more.”
“How do you know?”
“I felt it snap.” He motioned to thefoxenon the playground. “We all did—but first, something happened. We were sleeping, and Khain stuck his face in the room.” Sage gasped.
“The watch fox alarmed the rest of us,” Rosenvelt said. “We dimmed Paisley out, but Khain disappeared as quickly as he came. Shortly after was when we heard you calling for Khain the first time.”
“From so far away?”
