Isaac had made magic happen. Isaac had made a disguise. A shift, which grew out of his startled fear and encompassed them both.

But he didn’t know he’d done it.

Not yet.

*   *   *

As soon as Anna and Josef were inside the chamber, Anna felt a shimmer from the magic, but she also felt the strain on the old protections, on the thin places between worlds that were now stretched to the point of vanishing.

Her heart ached for Isaac, for her boy. “We gave him nothing. He knows nothing. We’ve failed.”

Josef said, “I know. I know. I didn’t realize the hunter was so close. It’s the war. The world is more treacherous, the Order scattered. I would have started his lessons earlier if I’d understood . . . There’s only this one magic we can try. What I began to tell you about before. I’ve made a study of it, these past several days.” He turned to a nearby table and picked up an object, and then held out his hand, opening his fingers.

It was a watch, a pocket watch with a hinged case that opened to reveal the face, but this one was anything but ordinary. Chills ran through Anna when she saw it.

“The hunters are looking for us,” Josef said. “But they don’t yet know about him. The fae will sense us as we travel. They’ll try to follow us, especially me. That will distract them from Isaac, and we’ll have enough of a head start—I hope—to keep us safe, too. If we use this watch right, we can plant clues for him that he can follow until he understands it all. All his responsibilities. All his gifts. All the secrets he needs to keep the magic safe.”

“So much for him to learn,” Anna murmured. “So we travel and he follows?”

“Yes. Where we map his journey, yes.”

“But, Josef, artifacts and those who seek them, for good or ill, tend to surface in times of strife and peril. With each travel wouldn’t we be sending him straight into danger?”

“Yes, possibly,” Josef said, rubbing his forehead. “Very likely. But Isaac needs to learn how important, how critical his role is in preventing worse things from happening. This is a harsh way to train, yes, alone as he will be.” He nodded. “But it cannot be helped.”

Anna gripped her husband’s arm, her eyes welling.

Josef touched her hand before he went on. “We’ll meet him in our last trip, and then we give him the watch. He’ll put the puzzle together.”

“But Moloch is so determined—”

“Isaac will put it together,” Josef said, his voice firm. “Once he understands, he can . . .” Josef went silent. Then, “He’s clever.” Another pause. “There’s only one problem.”

Anna waited.

“We might be lost. Caught in the stream of time. It would be like being nowhere, or everywhere.”