Sage laughed and nodded toward the far shore. “Scared? Of one of those pathetic villagers? I’d welcome it.”

Leelo swallowed, her mouth dry. “What if they snuck up on you? What if they caught you by surprise?”

She shook her head. “Impossible. How can I be surprised, when I’m the one doing all the sneaking?”

Leelo was quiet for a moment. “What if...what if they weren’t a monster, like you thought? What if they were good?”

Sage looked at Leelo like she’d grown an extra pair of hands. “Good? Don’t be a fool, Leelo. Your mother has put some ridiculous notions into your head, but that one is just plain dangerous.” She shook her head again, this time in disgust. “You’re lucky you have me, you know. Left to your own devices, you’d probably bring an outsider home for dinner.”

Leelo paced near the hidden cottage, wasting precious time as the sun sank below the treetops. Her conversation with Sage had renewed her fear of Jaren, or at least of being caught. Saints, if Sage knew the mess she’d gotten herself into, she’d never let Leelo out of the house again.

But every time she thought about telling her mother, or worse, leaving Jaren to starve, she kept coming back to this: it wasn’t his fault. She’d been singing when she shouldn’t have been. She knew there were consequences, and though she’d told herself it was worth the cost if it meant Tate could stay, she had been wrong. Whatever other outsiders were like, she didn’t sense that this one was dangerous, even if that did make her a fool. Even if it was simply because she wanted to believe that Tate stood a chance among people like Jaren, not the monsters Sage and Ketty said they were.

Finally, she knocked on the door and entered. Jaren was lying on his blanket, staring up at the ceiling, his head resting on her father’s sweater. He scrambled upright at the sight of her, straightening his mussed hair with a sheepish grin.

“Are you busy?” Leelo asked with mock concern. “I can come back another time...”

“No!” he shouted, so loud she glanced around to be sure no one had heard. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Sorry. I’m just bored to tears. I always thought I’d enjoy a break from my noisy family, but it turns out, I need human interaction as much as I need water.”

“Speaking of which.” Leelo entered the cottage and closed the door, taking her usual seat with her back against it. She pulled out fresh waterskins and food. “Here you go. Oh, I almost forgot.” She reached deeper into her pack and pulled out a piece of parchment and a bit of charcoal. “So you can draw those instruments for me.”

“Thank you. I wasn’t sure if you were coming today.”

“Neither was I.”