I still feel the meaty slick and squelch of cat blood on my feet, even though I scrubbed them hard in the information center’s bathroom. It takes everything not to shiver now that Noni has gone off to her date in Limatra and I’m alone, except for Tomí, Mina, and the weird mannequin in the neon vest. I’m a pathetic goose-pimpled creature cradling White Fox like it’ll protect me.

I do feel closer to finding Mama, like Nons said earlier. But I feel more certain than ever that what I find will be too dark for the TFH who landed here a few days ago. And the kid in me doesn’t want my view of my mother to continue to evolve. I want the old her to be enfolded in amber, preserved like this glorious, sparkly gem forever. It’s impossible now, I know. I’ve read her most personal thoughts in this script, a living, breathing fable of hacked-together memories and full of traps. But—

I hear a rustling behind me, way back, and, swirling around, I spot a slender figure in the dark.

“Hello?” I call, pulse jagging up.

The figure dances toward me in a pleated skirt, and my mouth goes dry, until I see the lines of her narrow face and smell gardenia.

“It’s just me, Bas,” says Saxim. I watch her close the space between us and notice, for the first time, that a delicate vein at her temple throbs mermaid-tail green. She’s painted her long pianist’s fingers a very milky blue. “I left the car at the gate because it wouldn’t open all the way. Even the tipsy security guard couldn’t get it to work.”

I cross my arms around White Fox to fight a chill. “You didn’t call!”

“I did call. I have service here. But you didn’t answer.” She stops, a few paces behind me on the hill, but she’s still taller.

“I only have service on one square foot of the lawn that I have to hike to get to,” I explain. “And then I have to hold one arm up like an antenna.”

Her mouth twitches, and she rubs her bare arms. “Where’s Manon?”

“On a date. I mean, she should be. She hasn’t texted that she made it yet. But I guess she just left.”

“A date?” she says, mouth curling with amusement.

“Don’t look so surprised.”

“I’m not—I promise. I’ve just been flustered since you texted me the news about your mother. Well.” She smooths her hair. “Now I’m especially pleased I didn’t leave you alone here.” She smiles, meeting my eyes, and when I don’t smile back in time because I’m thinking of Linos, she lets hers dip.