He turned down another of the pretty streets and they traveled out of the residential area and into a commercial one. Shops twinkled brightly in the early evening and couples walked hand-in-hand down the street.

Must be nice, she mused, to have someone all your own. Someone you could share yourself with, body and soul. Even though she'd learned to live without that, a part of her longed for it. Longed for a person to call her own in this world, or any of them.

"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.