Charlie maneuvered through the throng of county police, shoving her badge into the face of anyone who tried to stop her. Close on her heels was her squad's best forensic analyst—who grumbled in dissatisfaction the moment they arrived. "What?" "The heat," Claire answered, clutching her kit to her chest to relieve her shoulder of its bulky weight. "TOD is going to be off..." "Sheriff!" Charlie called, greeting the man as he...

A'an never let his mother's words drift too far away when he wandered through the Lif, though she was right there cradling his head between her breasts. The heady mix of clay, sweat and musk always accompanied her. It wasn't often that she could sneak off to hold him. Caution, caution, she liked to whisper in the middle of the fairy tales she recounted when his were the only ears there to listen, and it was always then th...

When I was younger, my father called me his little nest—his little heir. My earliest memories were of him holding me close, like he couldn't bear me being too far away, like I was the lightning rod that kept him grounded in the middle of a thunderstorm. His skin always smelled of freshly tilled soil and mint leaves; his hair of the honey-and-fruit scented pomade that my An'na specialized in making. Other warriors reek of...