Mino drifts awake, eyes still closed. The first thing on her mind are those eyes. Soft and warm, dark, gazing at her. Then they were cold, so cold, and hurt. What hurt him? What did she do wrong?

  Mino opens her eyes, shaking sleep away. Riel is standing by the window, a calm, unusually open look on her face. How long has she been awake? Mino looks around. Lonnie is gone, the bed unmade.

  Another flower has sprouted in the night. She can see it now in her peripheral vision, a bright, cheery yellow like the others. The tiniest hint of revulsion shudders through her body, but Mino is starting to get a little more used to them. Something inside her, small but insistent, feels connected to these flowers. What if they aren’t something to be afraid of?

  They are really, really weird, though.

  Mino moves to get up and Riel notices that she’s awake. Riel’s face hardens almost immediately, a mask slipping back on. Mino feels a wave of sadness roll over her, but lets it go.

  “Lonnie went out to buy us some more food,” Riel says. “He should be coming back soon… not sure how much he’ll be able to find, though. We don’t have much money between three people.”

  Mino scrambles over to the little closet and picks up the bag that Wilder gave to her. She pulls out a handful of coins, offering them to Riel.

  Riel eyes her and her pouch of heavy coins in wonder. “Mino, are you rich? I’ve never seen a kid carrying that much money.”

  Mino quirks an eyebrow and shrugs. “It was a gift.” Signing has become easier and easier. Maybe soon Mino will begin to remember things about herself, too.

  “Who gave it to you? You could probably ride the air rail for a month straight with all of that.”

  “I don’t know them. They helped me when I was sick and unconscious.” As she signs, Mino feels a pang of longing. It seems as though she had gotten way too attached to Bee and Wilder—she really misses them. Perhaps even more than she’s going to miss Riel and Lonnie. The feeling seems strange and out of place, but it won’t go away.

  It’s probably because they made her feel safe. She doesn’t know where she is or who she is, and they were the first people she saw, knowing nothing. Maybe when she finds the people who actually know her, she’ll feel more grounded, and she’ll be able to let go of this attachment.

  A knock comes at the door, and Lonnie appears in the gap. His face is apologetic. “I didn’t find a lot, but it’ll be enough for breakfast at least. I also tried to get a few things for you to take with, Mino—” Lonnie pauses as Mino excitedly shoves a handful of coins to him. His eyes widen.

  “Oh… Mino, you don’t have to give those to us, those are yours,” Lonnie says quickly. Mino smiles and tilts her head. “I don’t mind,” she says. “I can’t use these in the Overground, can I?”

  “Well, I guess not,” Lonnie confirms uncertainly. Then Mino definitely doesn’t need to keep the coins. Riel huffs and takes the bag of food that Lonnie is holding.

  “Come on, Lon. These things are heavy, don’t make her lug them around,” Riel says, lips quirking up into a small smile.

  “Okay, but if you change your mind, take them back.” Lonnie agrees reluctantly. Mino shakes her head and joins Riel in looking at the food Lonnie found. Riel grabs a large, plump fruit and sinks her teeth into the garnet-colored skin.

  Mino picks out a few pieces of toast wrapped in breadcloth and a small jar of jam. Riel hands Lonnie another ripe fruit and they sit side by side, leaning into one another.

  Mino watches, thinking. She hasn’t gotten Riel to confess to Lonnie yet, but she’s pretty sure that the girl is at least considering it. And it probably isn’t a good idea to be too pushy. It was pretty ambitious of Mino to think that she could get them together in such a small amount of time anyways.

  They’ve helped her so much, using their own money and their own time to bring her all this way. At least she’ll be leaving them with something. But she wishes she could help them more.

  Mino wonders if her family is as kind as Riel and Lonnie have been to her. Who loved her in the Overground? How will she find them?

  A sudden thought occurs to her. “How big is the Overground?” Lonnie catches sight of the motions.

  “I’m not sure,” he says, biting his lip. “At least as big as the Underground. Probably bigger.”

  “It’s bigger,” Riel says, disgruntled. “At least twice as big, probably more.” Mino eyes Riel, trying to understand her mood. She wants to ask more questions about the Overground, but she doesn’t want to force Riel to think about bad things. She has other questions she can ask now. She’ll find out the rest for herself soon.

  “How big is the Underground?” She asks.

  “Pretty big,” Lonnie says. “I wish I knew more. I’m not very smart about those things.”

  “You’re plenty smart,” Riel says as Mino signs brightly: “Don’t worry about it!”

  “You guys are the greatest,” Lonnie says, and tackles them both in a huge hug.

  “I have more questions,” Mino says. “You told me about how people with magic began to migrate down here. But wasn’t that a long time ago? Why do they stay here? Is it hard to survive?”

  “We’re actually quite self-sufficient,” Lonnie says. “There are areas lower down where we’ve been able to make quarries and mine for materials to build and craft tools. Trees and plants grow here, even without the sun. Riel says they’re different plants than she’s ever seen up there. And there are underground rivers and lakes too. We have everything we need. We can’t see the stars, but we’re safe and well-looked after here.”

  Mino nods, but Riel speaks up too.

  “As for why we stay down here, that’s easy,” she says. “Like I keep saying: the Overground sucks.”

  Mino is so curious, but a knock sounds at the door.

  When Riel opens it, Mino can see the glass man from yesterday, holding a small sturdy stick. He probably used that to knock on the door. Does that mean he’s breakable? Mino studies him with narrow eyes as Riel converses with him. The glass looks thick and solid, with no sign of fracture or weakness. If he’s lived this long, either he’s not breakable, or he has some way of healing that doesn’t leave marks.

  “Alright. Are we ready to head out?” Riel asks the room at large after a moment. Mino refocuses on her and nods.

  “We should be ready in just a minute,” Lonnie says. “Just let us get our shoes on.”

  The three of them slip on their shoes. Mino and Lonnie do their best to tidy a little, folding blankets and sweeping up crumbs as Riel checks to make sure they haven’t left anything behind. Then, they follow the glass man back to the inn’s entrance and wave goodbye.

  Mino, Lonnie, and Riel set off away from the inn and on a path surrounded by many young trees. After a while, Mino realizes that the trail is sloping upwards, as though they’re climbing in altitude. It makes sense, Mino muses. They’re heading to the Overground, and they’re in the Underground. They need to go up.

  Riel seems tense, her posture tightening more the farther they walk, and even Lonnie is quieter than usual. Mino touches the flowers in her hair more than once, wondering if she will need to hide them. Every once in a while she lifts her hair up in a fist to get it off of her neck. She stuffs her thick scarf in her bag. It doesn’t fit all the way. The trees get a bit denser around them, but not much.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  Riel stops them to take a break. Lonnie sits down on the side of the path, and Mino follows, leaving her satchel with Riel. Mino looks around. Wind hums faintly around them. She still doesn’t understand how that’s possible Underground. Is this another result of mysterious magic? If Mino weren’t leaving, she’d love to go around from stranger to stranger, picking the brain of anyone who would humor her. She imagines it, how fast her hands would be flying! How does magic work? What are the rules? What does your magic do? She never even found out what Bee or Wilder’s magic was. She regrets not asking.

  Lonnie takes a swig of water from the canteen he carries, and Mino examines him. He seems tired. And almost… sad.

  Mino scoots over next to him. “Are you okay?”

  To her surprise, Lonnie slowly signs back without speaking. His signs are small and relaxed, unlike Mino’s clear and eager ones. “I’m alright.” The words in front of Mino’s eyes are small, meant for her alone.

  “You look sad.”

  Lonnie glances over to Riel, who is leaning over and searching through one of the bags. “Selfishly, I wish you would stay here. I feel like you’re a good friend. And after this, I’m not sure what Riel and I will do. I don’t know how long she wants to stay away from home.”

  Lonnie has mentioned this before. Is it okay to ask? There’s too much that Mino wants to know. She may never get the chance again. “Why did you leave in the first place?” Mino asks curiously.

  “I’m not completely sure. She just said she had to go, and I wasn’t going to let her leave alone, you know? Something was wrong, really wrong. So I followed her.”

  Mino frowns sadly. “Did something make her want to leave?”

  “No clue. I’m just hoping that she’ll tell me about it soon.”

  “Hey, secrets aren’t nice,” Riel says, shooting Mino a mean look. Mino grimaces. But she wants to have a talk with Riel too. She feels a soft, sort of resigned desperation within her. She wishes she didn’t have to leave her new friends.

  She tries for a joke. “I’m not trying to kidnap Lonnie, don’t worry.” Lonnie snickers, and Mino feels just a little bit better.

  “Let’s go,” Riel says. “We’re getting close.” Mino stands and does her best to shake off the melancholy. Soon, hopefully, she’ll be reunited with her family.

  If she even has one.

  Mino frowns. Where did that thought come from? She doesn’t like being pessimistic. She waves a bobbing little flower out of her vision and gets up to walk with Riel.

  Mino gives Lonnie a subtle look. He seems to understand, and walks ahead in order to “lead the way.” Mino examines Riel.

  “Are you okay?” It’s a tried and true starter.

  Riel glances at Mino’s hands, then frowns. “I’m fine,” she insists quietly. “You want a heart-to-heart with me now or something?” So maybe she noticed what Mino is after. But that’s okay.

  “I want to say I’m very grateful that you helped me, even though you don’t like coming here,” Mino says. “Also you should tell him.” Mino waggles her eyebrows. Riel scoffs.

  “I’ll never tell him,” she says, almost too softly to be heard, words almost too faint to be seen.

  “Why?”

  “Because. It’s none of your business.”

  “Is that why you left home? Because you love him?”

  “I don’t love him, okay,” Riel denies, glancing forward to make sure Lonnie can’t hear her. “And… it’s maybe why I left. A little. But not really. And I don’t have to tell you. So.”

  Mino examines Riel. Her face is a little pink, but genuine frustration and fear is drawn through her expression.

  “I’ll respect your privacy,” Mino signs. “But at least consider telling him. Otherwise you might regret it for the rest of your life. And that’s a long time. You could turn even more bitter than you are right now, and then I wouldn’t want to eat you anymore!”

  Riel gives Mino a strange look. “You want to eat me?” Mino bursts out in silent laughter, shaking her head. She only wanted to lighten the mood, and it looks like it worked.

  Mino stretches out her arms, popping her shoulders. She looks back to Riel—but the girl isn’t there. Mino looks back and sees that Riel has stopped. She’s looking back in the direction they came from. Mino catches a glimpse of a person, possibly male, before they disappear behind a thicker tree and don’t reappear.

  Mino glances forward. Lonnie is completely unaware of what’s going on. Mino looks to the ground and finds a small stone, lobbing it as far as she can. It doesn’t reach Lonnie. However, he does turn around. He must have heard the stone when it thudded to the ground.

  Riel is tense and alert, like she was when the three encountered the twisted. She walks toward where the person disappeared, suddenly flicking a knife in her hand. Mino had seen the same trick before. Where did the weapon come from? Why does Riel carry it? There are so many things she’ll never know, never get the chance to ask. Her earlier conversations weren’t enough.

  Mino stays behind Riel as she approaches the tree, in case she gets jumped and needs help. But when Riel looks behind the tree, there’s nobody there.

  “Creepy,” Riel mutters. Then she raises her voice so Lonnie can hear it. “There’s someone following us,” she calls. Then she shouts out to the trees. “Whoever you are, weirdo, piss off or you’ll regret it!”

  “Yeah!” Lonnie chimes in. He’s started moving back towards them. “Stay away from us!”

  Mino looks around, frowning. Who was that man? Where did he go? Why was he following them? It didn’t make sense. For a moment, she feels the urge to go back and investigate more. But that wouldn’t be very smart, even if it’s what she wants.

  Mino pauses, eyes on her shoes but not really seeing them. It wouldn’t be very smart, even if it’s what she wants. She wants to stay here, with her new friends, learning about magic and flowers and how to make people smile. She wants to learn about warm eyes and grumpy frowns and bitten lips and sudden lies. But it wouldn’t be very smart. She might have a family. They might be worried about her, looking for her. These people can’t tell her who she is. She has to know who she is… doesn’t she?

  “Come on,” Lonnie says after a moment, and reaches out to take both Mino and Riel’s hands. “Let’s keep going.”

  Yes, Mino. Let’s keep going. Mino slowly tucks her heart away and keeps walking.

  It isn’t long after that when the trees clear and Mino is faced with a large field, slanting more and more uphill. The hill is surrounded by stone. It’s a much more closed-in space than most of the cavernous Underground, only a hundred or so yards across, with maybe twice that distance between Mino and the far wall. There, opposite her, is a narrow cave opening in the rock. A thin, weedy path leads a meandering line to it.

  Riel turns to look at her, shaking very slightly. “There it is,” she says. “I… hope you find what you’re looking for.” Her cinnamon curls shade her face, her sharp nose. Even though she’s the same height as Lonnie she seems smaller. Bad posture. Riel runs her palms along the textured cloth of her pleated skirt, looking anywhere but at Mino. Her eyes are the color of sweetgrass.

  “I hope you figure out where your family is,” Lonnie says. “And get to find all your memories!”

  “Hopefully all will be answered with time, once I find those that can help me.” Mino says. Lonnie smiles. His chest moves up and down as he breathes a little too shallowly. His shoulders are broad for an eleven year old, his joints bony. His hair is a dark chocolate, his skin more russet than her own tawny. His eyes are welling up, soft and sad and happy all at the same time.

  Mino bursts forward and hugs him hard. She reaches out with one hand and pulls Riel in as well. There is warmth all around her. Three bodies breathing, smelling a little bit of sweat and salt. Mino squeezes her eyes shut.

  After a moment, the three part. Mino hands her bag to Riel. Lonnie rummages in it, removes the coins that Bee and Wilder had given her, and then hands it back.

  “You might need the food and water,” Lonnie explains. “And your scarf is in there too. You never know how long you might have to look for your family, or if it might get cold.”

  “You can carry anything else you find, too,” Riel murmurs.

  Mino nods. They all look at each other for a moment, and it seems that there is nothing else to be said.

  Mino sets off up the hill, long grass tickling her ankles as she walks. She slings her bag over her shoulder and tucks her hair behind her ears. Her neck is sweaty, hair sticking to her skin. Her hair has been annoying her. When she gets the next opportunity, she might just chop it all off.

  When she’s two thirds up the incline, she looks back. Lonnie and Riel are gone. If she looks straight, she can see pretty far even with the rock walls looming on either side. The roof of the inn peeking over the trees, a few villages scattered with air rail tracks and paths connecting them. In the distance, she sees a green hill. She wonders if it’s Finlow.

  She turns and keeps going until she reaches the wall. The cave is dark inside, but lit up by tiny clusters of teal gemstones that cast strange shadows on the walls and make everything look blue. The path forward is clear, and there are no offshoots. Soon, Mino sees an old, weathered door, carved with symbols, pale mauve paint peeling from the wood. The frame is fitted perfectly into the stone. This is it.

  She opens the door, and this time, she doesn’t look back.