different ways. She had seen women making slings and carriers out of all kinds of things. The little tablecloth made a perfect baby holder on the first try.
She slipped Colton in and he snuggled in immediately.
“Good job, buddy,” she told him.
But he was already too sleepy to squeak back at her.
She slipped on her boots and headed out the front door.
The mountain was lush and green in the murky morning light.
Mornings were usually hard for her. They were when she thought most about Wyn - how they would drink their coffee together and plan their day.
But with Colton’s help, she had awoken and made it all the way through breakfast without the usual weight of loneliness.
Look at me, Wyn, she told him inwardly. I’m doing just what you wanted. I found someone to love.
She kissed the top of Colton’s fragrant head and looked up at the sky.
But not a single mote of sunlight made it through the clouds.
Next time, she told herself, gently patting her pocket.
A school of silvery birds winnowed past, chirping brightly. She watched them go all the way up the mountain, hugging the tops of the trees on the way.
When she glanced down again, she caught a flash of cream-colored fur and muddy paws coming at her at full speed.
She managed to step aside just in time.
“Keerah,” she said firmly to the tree-hound. “You can’t knock me over when I’m holding the baby.”
Keerah crash landed at the foot of a hemlock and cocked her head to the side as if trying to understand.
“Now I’ll bet you need your breakfast,” Liberty told her.
Keerah panted happily but didn’t lead the way to anything.
“Where is your food?” Liberty asked.
Keerah cocked her head sideways again, trying to understand.
“Well, I’m sure we’ll figure it out,” Liberty told her. “In the meantime, you can have some leftovers.”
She pulled a packet from her pocket, opened it and placed it on the ground.
Keerah approached it joyfully and ate it in one bite.
“Wow,” Liberty said. “I’m going to make finding your food priority number one after we check on the sheep.”
Keerah wagged her mighty tail in agreement.
“Show me the sheep,” Liberty said.
Instantly, the creature was at attention again, trotting purposefully down the path, just like the night before.
Liberty followed her, taking in the sight of the orchard and the birds and ground animals again.
Now that they were in as much full daylight as Lachesis seemed to ever have, she could see more. There were tiny crustaceans on the tree trunks, and she caught sight of a turtle nosing in the soil of the orchard.
At last, they rounded the bend to the grove. The grass was almost impossibly green - it was deeply satisfying to look at. And she noticed tiny, light blue flowers growing here and there.
But there were no sheep to be found.
“Show me the sheep,” she told Keerah again.
Keerah stared at her for a moment with her large, violet eyes, and then barked once, crisply.
Liberty felt her heart begin to pound. She had been a farmer for less than twenty-four hours and her whole flock was gone. The sheep were valuable. This was supposed to be Colton’s farm, the proceeds meant to keep him fed and clothed and safe.
She had failed him in one night.
I should have stayed up all night with that farming book. I should have slept in the grove…
“Good morning,” a deep voice said from behind her. “So you wanted to check on the flock at sunrise. You were born for farming.”
She spun around to find Odin smiling at her.
“They’re gone,” she said, her heart breaking at each word. “They’re all gone.”
He shook his head and pointed up.
She looked up to see a sight so strange she couldn’t believe her eyes.
One of her sheep was in the tree above her.
Not in it, but floating beside it, taking big bites of the tender leaves, its wool sparkling indigo whenever the mist shifted to allow the muted light to hit it.
“Wh-what’s she doing up there?” Liberty asked.
“They absorb starlight when the cloud cover clears,” Odin explained. “Usually that’s very late at night. When they absorb enough, they float.”
“Incredible,” she breathed.
“Floating allows them to reach the top of the tree canopy, which has the nutrients they need,” he went on. “They eat all day, and by afternoon, they begin to sink, and the glow becomes more pronounced.”
“So they’re all up there, in the trees?” she asked.
“Most likely,” he told her. “But we’ll count to be sure.”
14
Odin
Odin watched as Liberty wandered the grove, counting her