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"Boy?" Adam sputtered. "I'm a year older than you."
"Move along," Clay said. "So long as she's secured, we'll leave her there until Jeremy decides what he wants done."
Adam cast one last, longing glance at Leah, then turned to me. "Now what?"
"You and Clay can check how many other cells are occupied while Paige and I talk to Savannah."
As Clay and Adam headed down the hall, Paige and I approached Savannah's cell. Inside, she was still playing her video game. We paused outside the door.
"Did my mother tell Savannah about me?" Paige asked.
I nodded. "She knows what to expect, that you're going to look after her. Or, that was the plan, though I suppose as long as you take her back to your Coven, that would be good enough. I doubt Ruth really expected you to adopt a twelve-year-old."
"She did," Paige said. "Though I'm not sure what Savannah will think of the idea."
"Oh, she'll be fine." I reached for the door handle. "Ready?"
Something akin to panic flitted across Paige's face. Then she exhaled, straightened her shirt, and ran a hand through her curls, as if prepping for a job interview.
"Okay," she said. She stretched past me, opened the door, and walked inside. "Hello, Savannah."
Savannah leaped up, Game Boy crashing to the floor. Her eyes flickered past Paige and saw me. Grinning, she raced over and threw her arms around me.
"I knew you'd come back," she said.
Ouch. That hurt. Really hurt. But I had come back, hadn't I? I only wished I'd had enough faith not to abandon her in the first place.
"This is Paige Winterbourne," I said. "Ruth's ..."
"Daughter," Paige finished.
Savannah turned to Paige. They were the same height.
"This is the witch who's supposed to take me?" Savannah looked from me to Paige, then back to me. "How old is she?"
"I'm twenty-two," Paige said, smiling.
Savannah's eyes widened in horror. "Twenty-two? She's barely older than me!"
"We'll discuss that later," I said. "Right now--"
"Who's that?" She pointed at Clay, standing in the doorway, then realized she was pointing and turned the gesture into a wave.
"Clayton," I said. "My--"
"Ruth told me about him. Your husband, right?"
"Uh--right."
Savannah gave Clay the adolescent girl's version of a once-over, which didn't extend lower than his neck. She nodded approvingly, then leaned forward, nearly tripping over me.
"Who's that?"
"Adam Vasic," Adam said, stepping into the room with a mock bow.
Savannah stifled a giggle. "Ruth mentioned you. The fire-demon. That doesn't sound too bad, but what can you do? Besides start fires?"
"We really should--" Paige began.
