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Hector thought about asking his mother the same questions that he’d asked his father, but that seemed wrong, somehow, like subjecting them to some kind of secret test. Then again, it was also frightening, the idea that she might answer differently. He honestly wasn’t sure he wanted to know if his father had been lying in some way.

So he stayed quiet. And soon enough, his mother was gone again.

His eyes fell upon the children another time. “Garovel... what do you think I should do with them?”

‘Tough to say, really. We don’t know if it’s even safe to put them into foster care. Presumably, Colt would’ve done that if he thought it was best for them, but who knows?’

Hector frowned. “We’re lacking in information again...”

‘Yes, we are. I suppose that means we shouldn’t make any hasty decisions, then.’

“But... sooner or later...”

‘Yeah. You’ve bought yourself a few days, as far as your parents are concerned. For now, I think the only thing we can really do is wait. Hopefully, Colt will get back to you soon.’

“I guess so...”

‘But it’s worth thinking about what we’ll do if Colt never comes for them.’

“Hmm...”

‘The way I see it, we will essentially have three options. Option one: we put them into foster care. Obviously, that could be dangerous, but even if we can’t eliminate the danger, then we could at least mitigate it by placing them in different homes.’

“Wha? Separate them?”

‘I know it’s not exactly ideal. But twins suddenly showing up in the system is a dead give away to anyone who’s looking. It would be far safer for them if we split them up.’

“I don’t like that option at all...”

‘Fair enough. Option two: we find them a new family on our own.’

Hector gave the reaper a slanted look. “How the hell...? That sounds impossible.”