"You know this place well," she said, distracting herself from the dangerous, self-indulgent path her thoughts were taking. "You know right where you're going."

"I have ties here. Family." He paused and drew a breath. "My wife's family, actually. They live around here. My wife and I were both born and raised in Chicago, but she had extended family up here, uncles and cousins. I used to come to the cities with her sometimes."

Claire really didn't hear much after the word wife. She'd turned and begun to study him with fierce attentiveness. "You're married?"

He glanced at her. "No. Not anymore." His voice had gone tight, as tight as his white hands gripping the steering wheel.

Claire searched her memory, as she so often did, for her mother's teachings. "You're divorced, then?"

"No, we never divorced."

She stared straight ahead, working it out. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"Wasn't your fault." He cast her a sideways grin, but it didn't reach his eyes. Not even close. "Anyway, lots of the Coven witches have ties to Minnesota. Maybe there was a genetic pool here, some kind of witchy draw or something, I don't know. Ingrid is from around here. Jack McAllister, too. Thomas even keeps an apartment around the cities. Me, I just know it secondhand."

"Might be the water and trees."

"Excuse me?"

"The elements in this state are strong. Lots of water. I can feel it all calling to me."

"They don't call it the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes for nothing. There are a lot of water witches here, according to Micah." He took a left. "Here we are, Cherokee Park."

Adam slid the Charger into a spot. They got out and walked into the trees. It was a bit cold outside, so there was no one around. The residential street opposite the park was quiet.

Once they were well into the park, Claire felt more at ease. She stopped for a moment by a towering tree. Leaning against it, she splayed her hand on the rough bark and closed her eyes, soaking in the environment. The cool air kissed her cheek and rustled the branches of the tree overhead. The ground was soft beneath her feet and the scent of earth subtly reached her nose.

This was the earth she remembered from her childhood.

Green, growing, redolent with the scent of the raw element. All of the elements were here save fire, though the possibility of that one existed everywhere, all the time. Ah, yes, now the human part of her was home .. .finally.

"Thank you for bringing me here," she said, her eyes still closed. Emotion rocked through her, stimulating the water magick in her seat.

The heat of him wanned her, he stood so close. "I thought you might like a little nature in your diet. After I felt your magick, with all four elements combined, I figured you were probably dying for some of this."