Lina loved her little sister so much that it was like an ache under her ribs.

Poppy was now almost well. She still slept more than usual, but when she wasn't sleeping she tromped around the doctor's house pulling spoons off the table and spilling cups of water and crumpling pages of books. That is, she was almost her old self.

Now Doon seemed to care for his new friends more than he did for her. Every time she thought about him she felt a thud of pain, like a bruised place inside her.

Wouldn't it be strange, she thought, to have a blue sky? But she liked the way it looked. It would be beautiful - a blue sky.

Unintended consequences, he thought miserably. He was angry at his anger, the way it surged up and took over.

Remember the city, the city remember Where treasure is hidden under the ground The city, the city, always remember That's where the treasure will be found.

Maybe there was no happily ever after [...] but there was happiness sometimes and she had it now, doing what she knew she was born for.