Hazel's POV
I handed Orion's phone back to him, my brief flicker of hope extinguished. Without any memorized numbers, the device was useless to me. My lifeline to the outside world, to potential rescue, snuffed out by my own modern dependency.
"Sorry," Orion muttered, pocketing the ancient flip phone. His eyes held something that might have been pity.
I shrugged, trying to mask my disappointment. "Worth a try."
Before I could retreat back to my corner of the cave, Orion thrust Pip toward me. I automatically took the toddler, settling her on my hip.
"Watch them," he said gruffly. "Need to check perimeter."
As he turned away, something happened that made my brain short-circuit. Pip's curly hair parted, revealing two small, twitching cat ears.
Not bunny ears this time. Cat ears.
I blinked hard, certain I was hallucinating. The ears remained, velvety black with pink insides, flicking in response to the cave's sounds.
"Pip?" I whispered, my voice strangled.
