Chapter 356

XENOIS

Ollie clung to his grandfather, sobbing into his shoulder. And my father held him, rocking slightly, making soothing sounds while his own eyes filled with tears he wouldn't let fall.

"She promised she'd teach me to bake her special cookies," Ollie said between sobs. "She said we'd do it together when things calmed down. She can't die before we make cookies."

"She won't," my father promised. "We'll make those cookies together. All three of us. And your grandmother will critique our technique the entire time because that's what she does."

Riley and Lake had gravitated to their brother, forming a small cluster of terrified five-year-olds who'd just...