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“But they came from the wishing stars,” Lily reminded her with a heavy sigh.

“Of course they did. They are aliens.”

Lily shook her head, a secretive smile on her face. “No momma, I told you, they came from the stars for us. They are our new family.”

New family. That was something Lily certainly had not said before. Saying she wished on the stars that they wouldn’t be alone was one thing, but insisting that the aliens were family to them gave Delilah a pause. They never had any other family except each other after Zack disappeared. She’d thought that was enough. That Lily was happy despite the hardship. She didn’t realize that Lily had so keenly felt the lack of having the large families that the other children had. She never had uncles or cousins… was that what she was hoping for? If so, her daughter’s heart was going to be broken.

It was painful knowing that she would have to stand helplessly by as her daughter cried her heart out, all because of a harmless fantasy dreamt up by her lonely child. It wasn’t fair. Why did they have to come to their village? Why should Lily be forced to experience abandonment and pain a second time when the aliens eventually leave? She knew that it wasn’t their fault. They were doing nothing to encourage any such fantasy over the hours her daughter spent watching them. Of course, they watched Delilah and Lily in turn—what little they could see of the little girl through the window—but it had struck her more like the sort of fascination one might feel encountering something new. Wasn’t that why she also often looked for them as she walked through the village? It had long ceased being about fear, but rather, it had become an unconscious pull to observe something so very different from her.

“Lily, honey, I don’t think they would see us the same way you see them,” she cautioned. “I know that they are fascinatingwith their long feathers and red wings and even look a tiny bit like us in the way they are shaped, but they aren’t human. They may not even consider us as people in the same way we do, much less as a potential member of their family. It would be best to get that out of your head.”

Heaving an exasperated sigh, Lily dropped down from her knees as she turned on the couch, giving her back momentarily to the window behind her. “Momma, don’t be silly. Of course they do. Don’t you see the way they are always bringing us food?” she pointed out in her most reasonable voice. “Who else would do that but family? That’s what families do… they feed each other. Kids are given good foods by their families to show them how much they love them.”

Perhaps she should have expected that response. In Lily’s eyes, they were practically heroes. It didn’t hurt that from day one she’d been wildly enthusiastic about them. She practically bounced when one of the males came within view of the windows, her slender arms waving over her head jubilantly.

“Okay,” Delilah replied, drawing out the word slowly. “But people also feed small animals that need food without making them part of their families. We took Nimh in, but that is not always the case. Their kindness might be the same that we would show a starving dog.”

Lily giggled. “We would bring the dog home, too,” she pointed out.

There was no arguing with that. “Fair point,” she chuckled. “But Lily, just remember that they are not us. We can’t expect them to just adopt us.”

A sweet, knowing smile spread across her daughter’s face. “You’ll see, momma.”

While she was certain that it was just the fantasy of a lonely child, she couldn’t ignore that her daughter’s words sparked something within her. What it was exactly, she wasn’t sure.But with the dangers of the woods growing by day, and the males attentively providing so happily for their meals in ways they hadn’t enjoyed since her husband disappeared, she could understand the appeal for Lily. It was hard to not want someone who was there specifically for them.

And although it was a fantasy, it was one that followed her into slumber that night and haunted her all next morning when she woke. She went about doing her morning routine listlessly, her mind occupied with conflicting thoughts of the alien males. Was Lily right? Not specifically the family part—that was just the hopeful imagining of a child. But might they have been lured to the village and were lingering because they were… interested?

They claimed to just be hunting and renewing their supplies and yet their interest in her was difficult to refute. Not that they came to the village for them, but even if it was by some wish that made their paths cross, did they see something more in her than just a lone female they were forced to share space with? It sparked a crazy idea—one that the old Delilah would have pushed away with revulsion and not dared do consider. But why shouldn’t she? Zack would hate the very idea of his daughter being permitted around a pair of “monsters.” It would have all been a matter of principle, of course.

That was the way it always was with Zack. Everything he did for Lily was about his image or the core principles of his beliefs. He certainly hadn’t invested any of himself or his time into her, which accounted for the fact that Lily barely had any memory of him. His duties often took him away, and for increasingly longer periods when the newness of being a father wore off. And when he was there, he was often impatient with the little girl who interfered too often with his pursuit of his baser desires.

That is why, an insidious voice within her whispered,you question whether or not he truly died. How many times did youhave to listen to him complain about him not being able to have you to himself?

She had believed that he was just tired, overworked, and wanting some comfort from his wife. Lily hadn’t understood that, but Delilah had been certain it was just something that would fix itself and that her husband would grow close to his daughter. Was he ever close? Had he ever held her? Had he ever voiced wanting a baby or being disappointed when Delilah struggled to conceive? A chill worked deeper within her and suddenly the house that she had shared with Zack for so many years felt claustrophobically small.

She swallowed thickly and pushed the feeling away. What did it matter anymore? He was gone. He certainly wasn’t around to offer his objections about any decisions she made. And right now, she needed to protect her daughter. Her broken heart aside, there was a chance that Lily wouldn’t make it through another winter if Vernon didn’t pull through for them—and as the days passed, that was looking increasingly hopeless.

She had no choice. She had to persuade the aliens to help them, and she was under no illusions that doing so would cost her. In her brief conversation with Agrel and Gehj, they had been clear as to what their plan was, and it wasn’t the sort of plan that allowed the required flexibility necessary for traveling with two humans, especially a child, if they had to travel hard for long distances. They certainly would not be eager to charitably pick up the responsibility of feeding and protecting them while they were forced to travel considerably slower to accommodate them—not without some kind of compensation.

If she was not wrong and they were… interested, then perhaps a bargain could be made. Heat rose to her face, unbidden, at the thought. She’d never been intimate with anyone but Zack, but the aliens weren’t exactly unattractive. She believed that she could carry out such an arrangement untilthey arrived at either another settlement or within distance of a citadel. And just maybe doing so would ensure that Lily was surrounded by other people whose presence would help distract her from the disappointment and pain when Agrel and Gehj left them. Though Delilah had never been south, she would take her chances there over being left to die alone in the village. And she would trade the only thing she had to get it—her body.

She needed to speak to them. Pulling the towel from around her waist, she craned her head toward the living room.

“Lily,” she called out and smiled when her daughter’s sweet face popped around the corner. She dried her hands off on the towel and tossed it on the counter. “Lily, baby, I’m going to head out for a bit to see if they left anything for us.”

She didn’t need to mention who they were for her daughter’s face to light up with delight.

“Can I come with you?” she asked, bounding into the kitchen.

Delilah shook her head. “Not this time. There’s something I need to do. Maybe next time, okay?”

Lily peered for a long moment, studying her, but she must have seen what she wanted to see because she suddenly broke into a smile. “So, you won’t keep me in here forever.”

“If I thought it would give me some peace, and any kind of guarantees, I would try to,” Delilah muttered. “Just stay in the house and keep the door locked. Don’t open it for anyone.”

Her daughter huffed and rolled her eyes. “I know, momma. I won’t.”

She cupped her cheek and smiled. “Good girl. I won’t be gone long. Take care of Nimh.”