"I know," Sunny said softly. "It's not about wanting to see someone hurt. It's about having faith that he's strong enough to take care of himself." It sounded insane, she knew, but really to make being chased by cats not seem as crazy she went ahead, "My first lesson--which I had to sneak out for, at midnight, after having to teach myself to turn invisible--my teacher Anatov sent me and three other kids into a soul-eating death forest. Sasha was the oldest of us, and even he wasn't quite fourteen yet."