After Kace drove away from the inn's parking lot, no one brought up the event with the girl before. Mostly because Serefina didn't care and Kace was too engrossed with the thoughts of how to reach the mystic river village before the sun would set.
But, they didn't know that the girl was following them by depending solely on her nose to track them.
When Serefina needed to use restroom, they stopped at a rest area to refuel the car and buy something to eat while the witch did her business.
However, when Kace returned to his car with baby Hope in his arms, gushing and mumbling incoherently, he found the same girl panting beside his car. She was sweating profusely.
"Take me with you." Despite her ragged breathing, her voice sounded firm when she asked Kace to take her with him.
"No." Kace could see that the girl was malnourished and had been running from something before they met.