"You must find the first house before the fourteenth door opens."
A pause.
"Do not trust the one who remembers everything."
The lantern flickered.
"Do not trust the one who remembers nothing."
Jude looked at Sol.
The boy was staring at the book.
The voice continued.
"And whatever happens, do not allow the child to return to the tree."
A low rumble passed beneath the floor.
The book began closing.
But before it shut, a final sentence appeared.
Because the child is not the one who was lost.
Jude stared at the words.
Then the room went dark.
A small sound came from behind them.
Three knocks.
A pause.
Three more.
Jude turned.
The wooden door was no longer there.
Instead, a narrow doorway had appeared in the wall.
Beyond it was a familiar room.
Their shared house.
The house that had vanished from the village.
Warm light shone through the windows.
The fire was burning.
The table was set.
And all twelve women were sitting around it.
Layla was among them.
