The front door opened softly that afternoon, and the girl that entered was a lot more subdued than the one that had left that morning.

Nyrissa came hurrying out of the kitchen with an Italian soda that Quentin had helped her. They were all excited to hear about her first day, but Nyrissa hadn't wanted them to bombard her.

"Nat!" Nyrissa called when her sister started to walk by her like she wasn't there.

Natalie skid to a stop but didn't look up. "Yeah?"

Nyrissa's ...