Nora's POV
The message stayed folded inside my coat pocket. I never took it out again. I didn't need to. I'd already memorized every word. By seven-thirty the next morning, I was standing outside Ironveil Children's Center. Iris skipped beside me, her backpack bouncing against her shoulders. She was humming something she had made up. Probably about wolves. Or pancakes. With Iris, it could be either. She reached for the front door. I touched her shoulder. "Not today."
She looked up. "We're late?"
"No."
"Holiday?"
"No."
She thought about that. "Adventure?"
I smiled before I could stop myself. "A little."
That answer seemed to satisfy her. She slipped her hand into mine. We walked back to the parking lot. She asked no more questions.
Twenty minutes later, we stopped outside a small b
