Myra’s knuckles went white around the stuffed wolf. “Auntie never said sting.”
“She is not here,” he said. “Look at your father.”
She looked at me. I kept everything steady—eyes, mouth, voice. “You’re brave,” I told her. “One breath in. One breath out.”
She copied me: in, out. Her small chest moved in sync with my steady count. She has always done what I asked if I kept my promises. Anderson swabbed her ankle, then the inside of her calf. He didn’t warn her before he placed the first needle.
She sucked in a breath, surprise and hurt mixed together. “Ow.”
“Good,” he said. “It means your body is listening.”
“Or it means you’re careless,” Adam growled through me.
I moved closer without thinking, hand hovering near hers. She slipped her fingers into mine, the grip not so small when fear
