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That dog was the first creature I became a mother to, and if they’d killed Sany, I had no doubt they’d killed Sadie too. But we’d found Sany. She was Tink now, but we’d found her.

I hoped we’d find Sadie, too.

Still kneeling beside her, Jeremy looked up at me with wide eyes. “We need to go to the Land of Light.”

“Oh?”

“Vinion and Ayla.” He swatted his tears away, smiling. “I left them with Iliantha. They didn’t die. They’re still out there.”

A little voice in the back of my head reminded me that was thousands of years ago, and there was no way to know they were still alive, but I wasn’t going to ruin his joy. “Let’s plan a trip as soon as the kids get up.”

He straightened. “I know it’s the weekend, but I don’t know how much longer I can wait. If they’re not up before the pancakes are done, I’m waking them up.”

“I’m up,” a voice grumbled from the top of the stairs. Milly stood there, stretching both arms above her head with a yawn. She wore a pink nightgown covered in white flowers, curly brown hair spun into two pigtail braids that reached the middle of her chest. “We’re going to the Fae Realm, Daddy?”

Suddenly, Jeremy was behind her, hoisting her from the ground and reappearing at the foot of the steps. He spun her in a circle, squeezing her so tight that Milly’s eyes bulged. Jeremy’s hug turned to an attack of tickles, making Milly cackle, wiggling and squirming to escape his grasp.

“What’re you doing?!” Milly made out between howls of laughter. “I just woke up!”

“I’m sorry.” Jeremy stopped tickling her, pulling back just far enough to meet her gaze. His smile was so big, it reached his teary eyes. “I just missed you, kid.”

Milly was relaxed in his arms, but her fiery attitude radiated through her voice. “I just saw you last night, Dad.”

“You did, huh?” He leaned in and pecked her forehead. “Well, it was a long night, and I missed you. Is that a problem?”

“Tickling me is a problem.”

Jeremy narrowed his eyes, but his smile stayed. “Since when is tickling you a problem?”

“When I first wake up it is.” She glared, but she was struggling with all she had to keep from smiling back at him. “I wouldn’t tickleyouwhen you first wake up. That’s rude.”

He poked her in the nose. “You’rerude.”

“No,you’rerude.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Uh-huh.”

“If I’m so rude, I guess that means you don’t want to go to the Fae Realm with me. You can stay home while the rest of us go.”

Milly’s jaw dropped. “That’s not fair!”

“Good thing you’re coming then.” He tickled her side, making her giggle and drop into his chest. “See? I’m not rude. Take it back.”

Giggling still, she shook her head. “Youtake it back.”

“Fine. I take it back. You’re not rude.” He fixed a piece of hair that escaped her braid. “Nowyoutake it back.”

“If youpromisewe’ll go to the Fae Realm.”

“What do you say, Mommy?” He turned to me. “We gonna go to the Land of Light?”

Until he expected me to speak, I hadn’t realized I was crying.

All I managed back was a nod.

But until this moment, my most recent memory of my children was of their deaths. Witnessing this sweet, simple interaction between my daughter and her father was the most heart wrenchingly beautiful thing I’d ever seen.