Once my mother was satisfied Ivy and Isaac were getting quality care, she moved on to much more momlike things. “Did you really have to name her Ivy?” my mother asked. She wrinkled her nose. “It’s such a ... hippie name.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s a fine name. And it sounds nice with Isaac.”

My mother looked skeptical. “Well. So do Isabelle and Irene.”

There was no question I’d stay overnight at their house, but I knew that was probably the only time I could spend in Tucson. My mother would’ve kept me forever if she could, but Roland and I both knew that I couldn’t delay much longer in getting to the Otherworld. I planned on spending most of the next day acquiring gear for the wintry conditions of the Otherworld’s blight. Roland shook his head when I told him that night that I planned on getting my down coat from my own house the next day.

“You’re going to need more than that,” he said ominously. “You need to go all out. Scarves, gloves, boots. Then layer up underneath those.”

“This is summer in Tucson,” I reminded him, just in case he hadn’t noticed the weather right outside his window. “Where am I going to find that stuff?” There was actually a thriving ski trade outside of town in the winter, so getting supplies wouldn’t have been that difficult any other time of year.

“It’s out there. You’re just going to have to do a little bit of hunting.”

He was right. Daytime found me on quite the scavenger hunt as I scoured the city for sporting goods stores that had any meager winter stock. Secondhand stores provided some luck as well, particularly for things like sweaters. My Tucson nostalgia was still going strong, so in some ways, I didn’t mind driving all over. I was able to see all the familiar sights I’d missed and even grab lunch at one of my favorite hole-in-the-wall Southwest restaurants.

Late afternoon found me back in the Catalina Foothills, heading toward my own house. Just like everything else around here, it had been months since I’d been to the house. I pulled into the driveway and sat in my car for several minutes, taking in the familiar view. It looked exactly the way I’d left it, with its stucco finish and rock garden of a lawn. The house wasn’t big—it only had two bedrooms—but there’d been plenty of space for my needs. Plus, it had been mine, my own sanctuary, in a way that even the Otherworldly castles weren’t, seeing as those always had people coming and going.