Trail of Ash and Silver

Eve’s POV

Toby was trying his best to be a tiny tornado of chaos, darting around the living room, scattering papers like a mischievous leaf caught in a gust. His small hands swiped at the curtains and then made a beeline for the half-empty bowl of popcorn on the coffee table.

“Hey!” Eve snapped, swatting his hand away. “Leave the popcorn alone, Toby.”

He grinned, utterly unrepentant, and giggled like a little imp on a mission.

But Eve barely noticed. Her eyes were glued to the clock on the wall. Tick-tock, tick-tock. The minutes crawled by slower than a turtle trudging through molasses.

She was waiting for Mr. Badmus to get back from the police station — the one place she hoped would give her some shred of hope or at least a clue about where Lily had disappeared to.

Toby tried to grab her attention again, tugging at her sleeve with sticky fingers. “Eve! Play with me!”