“But you know it, right? You can tell her.”

“You could tell her!”

Kaylin watched them; they were children, dead or not. They were afraid of looking either stupid or worse, and they wanted someone stronger to take the risk. Judging from the way Jamal had attempted to leap into Mrs. Erickson’s arms, Jamal didn’t see himself that way.

“It’s all right,” Mrs. Erickson told them. “Kaylin is a friend. She can see you, she can hear you—she means you no harm. If her friend Teela is scary, remember that she can’t see or hear you at all. If Jamal could avoid throwing things at her, she wouldn’t know you existed.”

“She could see us,” Callis whispered. Kaylin knew he wasn’t speaking of Teela.

Patiently, she shifted her legs, coming to sit cross-legged on the floor. “Callis, I won’t tell anyone else unless you give me permission.”

“Dear, you’re a Hawk—”

“There’s a statute of limitations,” Kaylin replied cheerfully. “Your children are older than those limits—there’s no crime that persists that long. Not among humans. The Immortals have their own laws and punishments, but the Imperial Laws were created, in some ways, for those of us with fleeting lives. If you don’t give me permission, I won’t tell anyone else.”

“But Mrs. Erickson will hear us.”

“You mean she doesn’t know?”

Callis shook his head.

“Mrs. Erickson has been with you since she was born—you’re her family. Unless you somehow had something to do with the death of her parents, I don’t think there’s anything you could say—anything at all—that would turn her against you.”

“Not against us,” Katie whispered. “But we don’t want her to be disappointed.”

Kaylin knew they’d existed for longer than either she or Mrs. Erickson—but they were children to her eyes, just as most of the foundlings were. She couldn’t imagine what they could do that could disappoint an old woman with Mrs. Erickson’s life and experience. She would have said as much, but Mrs. Erickson was already shaking her head; she lifted a hand and cupped Katie’s cheek, although there was no physical contact.

“Kaylin is right,” she told them, lowering that hand, her eyes crinkled in a fond smile. “You were my older brothers and sisters for years. And then my younger brothers and sisters. I was angry the first time Jamal broke something, do you remember?”

“It was the magic crystal—the picture of your mom and dad,” Esme said.

“Yes. I was very, very upset.”

Jamal was studying his feet.

“But Jamal was still my brother, still my family; I accepted his apology. I forgave him.”

“But it still makes you sad,” Jamal said.