Her eyes sparkled. “I’ve seen him in my dreams. He’s kind and has a deep voice, like yours, only deeper.”

“He’s exactly what your dreams tell you he is.”

She looked up, biting her lower lip, then squeezed her eyes shut as a peaceful smile lit up her features. After an instant, she looked back at me. “I’m Pia. I escaped from my village two lights ago. I’ve been trying to get outside, hoping it was real.”

“It’s real, Pia, I promise. And you’re so close. You have to keep moving. Others of my kind will help you the rest of the way if you need it. For now…” I took her mangled hand in both my hand-paws, feeling the brokenness, the wrongness of her fingers, as her blood seeped into my fur. What...

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