That was how Imogen ended up here, circling and circling Emma’s redwood, drawn to the place where her spirit was trapped. That was why she almost died in the woods — to keep the Grays safe.

Danny: Now

Instead of walking back to Tempest, we hike the last ten miles to the coast. It’s closer, and the smell of salt is as tempting as anything at the Tempest Diner. June pushes the rest of her granola bars at Imogen so she’ll be able to make it out of the woods. Hawthorn and Lelia take turns helping June keep her weight off her right leg. We walk and walk, and then we’re standing on the edge of a cliff, at the edge of the world.

Lelia looks down at the churn of white against rocks below us and a deep pool just beyond. The water looks clean and cold, and it holds a dark mirror to the stars. “I don’t do up,” Lelia says, bouncing on her feet. “But down works.” Lelia leaps off the cliff, and my heart flies with her.

She bobs in the water far below, screeching, slicking back her short pale hair. “Come on! The water is amazing! I mean, it’s really fucking cold! But that feels amazing!”

The rest of us work our way down a sandy cliff path with ice plant on both sides. Lelia joins us when we make it to the beach, jumping to warm herself up. I hold the ocean in sight, a tiny patch of it, and I try to imagine the rest. The water stretches out, away from me, and I know that this is only where it starts.

Emma has never seen the Pacific before. Every time I stare, she asks me to stare a second longer. It’s a sort of gentle nudge inside of me, strangely polite. I haven’t told the others about her yet. Imogen knows, of course. But I don’t want to keep secrets from the rest of the Grays. And Emma doesn’t want to live a half-life.

“I brought her back with me,” I say.

“You really did it,” June says giddily.

Hawthorn and Rush and even Lelia grin at me — they think I’m talking about Imogen.

“Emma,” I say. “I brought Emma Hart back from the place where Imogen was trapped.”

“What?” Rush asks, suddenly nervous. She stares down Imogen, like it must be her fault. But this was my idea.

I take Rush’s hand, carefully, matching her fingers to mine. “I couldn’t leave Emma there. She’s like us. I wanted a chance to be happy, and she deserves that, too. I had to try.”

The water runs up the sand and kisses Imogen’s toes. “Danny is carrying Emma.”