Chapter 42: Redemption

My first impression of Cathryn Whitmore had been a little fuzzy, being that I was just coming out of a coma. But I was wide-awake when I saw her the next time, and the sense of her power hit me hard.

Cathryn was smaller than I had expected. She was slender, and her blonde hair was as white as I remembered. It fell around her shoulders in a cascade this time, instead of being away from her face. Her face seemed softer, too, but maybe that was just my imagination, since I had been barely lucid when we’d first met.

“Nell, you look wonderful.” She smiled at me, and there was more warmth there than I expected. I had been thinking of her as an ice queen these last few days, though I didn’t know why. Again, maybe just a mistaken impression.

“Thank you. I feel better than I did when you ... before you left.”

“Excellent. Zoe tells me you’ve been making amazing progress. It sounds like you’re nearly ready to come home.”

Home. And where exactly was that?