And yet the echo of a small girl trapped in my bones trembled at the thought of being resurrected this way.

“I’ll do what I can.” I held her black-lashed stare. “No promises.”

The gleam returned to her eyes. “Do you need a moment?”

“I— Yeah. I do.” I seized the opportunity with both hands. “I haven’t done this since…”

Not since the day she walked into the marshal’s office where I worked, pointed at me and left the building, clearly expecting me to follow. I went from Northeast Conclave marshal to Earthen Conclave agent overnight, and Vause had led the recruitment charge. The other magistrates, a circle of ten, had demanded a show of my powers. They documented my abilities and then ripped my body through the change without waiting for my protest.

No doubt if I failed to shift on my own now, then Vause knew similar methods for drawing Lori into the open. I shivered at the thought.

“Very well. You will enter the interrogation room through there.” She pointed out a door to my left. “I’ll be overseeing the interview with her parents and Mr. Graeson from a second private room behind the opposing two-way mirror.”

Looking over my shoulder literally. Great. “Okay.”

After she left, my back hit the wall, and I sank to the floor. I banged my head against the glass until the base of my skull rang. It didn’t help. I kept Lori tucked so deep in my memories that pulling her out made me physically ill. But asking Vause for help would be worse. So much worse.

Come out, come out, wherever you are...

Minutes passed. A half hour elapsed. Maybe an hour. Sweat drenched my face and clung to my upper lip. The tapping of my foot sparked a headache, but I couldn’t seem to hold still. My skin itched and burned. That tightness reminded me of sun-drenched days and warm summer nights. I had spent every summer of my early childhood caravanning with relatives through the Great Smoky Mountains. I filled my lungs, aching for the sweet bite of spruce trees.

Just like that, my gut wrenched. My bones ached in time with my heartbeat, and my marrow tingled. The change compressed me, smashed me into a form that ought to be too small to hold an adult. I sat on the floor, legs crossed and trembling, and gazed into my reflection. My chest hurt. I don’t know how long I had been rubbing it, but finger marks reddened the fragile skin.