Happy to oblige, Nel scratches behind his ears and works her fingers down into his fur around his neck with more pressure. That attention starts to slow as her brother asks about whether the Numbers have ever caused her pain, then picks back up as she answers honestly, “Not me. ...but I think it can hurt. I think it depends on what changes.”

“Sometimes the magic changes how someone looks, or what they can do, but other times it makes things appear. Like a book!”