“Ellie couldn’t Transform, could she?” Cadence asked, not truly able to wrap her mind around the idea that Jamie could look like he did right now, in his early twenties, and have an elderly wife at home.

“No, she was completely human.” He was quiet for a moment, reflective, before he said, “I always knew I’d lose her someday; I just had no idea it would be so soon. She died before she’d even had a chance to live. Ellie wanted nothing more than to be a schoolteacher, to ...