It had been several weeks since Freya began working at Daniel's company. The chaos and strangeness of the human world had gradually settled into a rhythm she was beginning to understand. She no longer marveled at electric kettles or double-decker buses, and she could operate a computer faster than most of her colleagues. There was a quiet pride in that—learning to blend in, learning to survive.

But even with all the progress she had made, something was wrong.

Irene had been quieter ...