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him.
    “I guess,” he says. “It’s just sinking in now. We’ve had so many of your friends try to help, I figured something or someone would come to our rescue.” He makes a silly face. “I’m an idiot.”
    “No,” I say, sighing as our feet match pace down the rutted pavement and the chill of the late September wind cuts through our conversation. “Not an idiot. Just optimistic. It’s one of the things I love—” I choke off. I can’t speak of love and such things right now. I can’t afford to lose my focus.
    Sage’s hand grips mine. “So what’s the plan?”
    “We stay low,” I say, “and out of the reach of the Enforcers. Syd might be doing her best to distract them from us, but she’ll only succeed for so long.”
    “I still can’t believe it,” he says, a little laugh in his voice. “Syd Hayle, a powerful witch. I mean, I knew there was something about her when we trained.” He runs his right hand through his hair, over the stubble on his cheek and chin with a rasping sound. “I figured she was some kind of special, hiding in plain sight, especially with you watching over her. But I had no idea.”
    I squeeze his hand. “That’s the point,” I say. “Normals aren’t supposed to.”
    He shivers. “Normals,” he says. “I’m not one anymore, am I?”
    Not by a long shot.
    I’m distracted from the melancholy of our talk by the faint whistle of a train approaching. “Come on,” I say, pulling him along beside me, running toward the sound. “Our ride is calling.”
    By the time the train chugs past, one of the open cars beckoning, I’ve shaken off the sadness roused by our chat. But when Sage and I leap onto the rocking platform, landing in unison, I feel it return. He wedges himself carefully between a pair of tarped-over piles of crates, pulling me down next to him. I would have preferred a boxcar with walls, but this will do, especially when he slips his arms around me and cuddles me close.
    I have no idea where this run will take us, ultimately. Or if he’ll ever be normal again. But these moments together, when I can almost pretend everything is right in the world and we’re just on an adventure, helps me forget for a time, or pretend to, at least.
     
    ***
     

Chapter Six
     
    I crouch in the tree line on the near side of the Ukraine border and watch a jeep rumble past. This section used to be unguarded, the fence easy to climb. But someone has increased security. If we are to pass here, we must be very cautious.
    Hungary lies on the other side. Perhaps I’d be smarter to use the Slovenian crossing. But we are here, now, and I must make a choice.
    “Can we do it?” Sage’s whisper carries to my ear, barely a breath of sound. He knows how to keep his voice down.
    “I think so.” I sit back on my haunches, looking up at the sky. It’s almost dark again. I want to be over the border before Isabelle and Maks return. I know my werefriend will hunt us, though the travel on the train will hamper his task. Still, if we can reach Hungary, I can steal a car or hitch on another train and cover huge distance before they can figure out where we’ve gone.
    The jeep pauses by the fence, two soldiers emerging with machine guns. One steps behind the vehicle and relieves himself, steam rising from his stream. I chew my lower lip as the second lights a cigarette, calls out a joke in Hungarian I barely understand, my translation skills rusty. His friend laughs. When they step back into the jeep and drive off, I exhale in relief.
    Not a border patrol, per se. Just a quick look by a pair of soldiers. Our chances have just improved.
    “Stay low,” I say, slinking into the tall grass. Sage follows as I slip across the thirty feet to the fence and look around. Nothing, no cameras, no guards and the fence itself isn’t electrified. In fact, it’s rusting in places, easy enough to make a hole rather than being forced to scale it. With Sage’s shoulder the way it is, I’m not sure he