Chapter 417: Chapter 417

Gabriela I’d been happy enough when Lenora rang me to see if I’d have lunch with her, but I’d been waiting during the entire meal for her to question me about what had happened with Stella. So far, she hadn’t said a word. Finally, I decided I couldn’t stand it any longer.

“Sometimes, wolf pups have a double doubling.” The words shot out of me without me fully knowing why I said them. It wasn’t true, and I couldn’t be sure Lenora knew that.

I’d just lied to her face. It felt terrible, but also like the only choice I could make.

Lenora’s eyebrows rose, and her teacup stopped halfway to her lips. She put the cup down without drinking. “Oh, my. That sounds like quite the surprise.”

“You heard about it, didn’t you? What happened at the school. I’m sure the rumors are flying.” My laugh. rasped in my throat without much humor. Heat blazed in my cheeks.

My friend leaned forward with a look of concern. “I wasn’t going to ask you about it. But if you want to talk about it…”

Oh, I did, didn’t I? I needed to unburden myself to someone about my worries, but I didn’t dare.

I couldn’t reveal that my granddaughter was a Celestial, not without also having to explain what that meant. It would have to be enough just to start a rumor of my own.

“It’s very rare, but as I’m sure you also know,Stella is a hybrid.”

“I’d heard. I don’t know much about hybrids,”

Lenora admitted with a gentle smile. “But here in Brightsky, we welcome everyone as equals.”

A burst of relief flooded me. I hadn’t really been afraid my friend would somehow reject my granddaughter, but it was still good to be assured of it. Lenora and I had experienced a lot together all those years past. It was good to feel like I could trust her.

She’s a Celestial.

The words fought to come out, and I held them back by gritting my teeth.

“Gab? You look upset.” Lenora reached to pat my hand. “Is this double doubling, this rare thing…

harmful?”

“No, nothing like that. Shocking, that’s all. One minute she was a little girl, and now she’s a lovely young woman. Time flies the older we get,” I said with a rueful laugh. “But this is too fast.”

“What’s done can’t be undone. She has her family around her to support her. I’m sure she’ll be able to weather this change without too much trouble. As will you.” Lenora tilted her head to give me a curious look.

“And I hope you know, I’m here for you. Whatever you need.”

For the next hour, we chatted about other Brightsky gossip. Lenora relieved my mind that the news about Stella had spread, but nobody was saying anything unkind. In an enclave open to anyone, a child who grew into an adult within hours wasn’t even close to being the most scandalous event.

We parted ways with a hug, and for me, a much lighter heart. On the way back to our quarters,I thought I’d stop off and pick up a few things for Stella. Her mother had bought her an entire new wardrobe, but I had some ideas about other things she might need.

A birthday cake, for one. How many had she missed? I wasn’t even sure she could count them, or if she’d really be able to ever name her accurate age again. Would she continue to age, or would she stay forever locked into the appearance of a young woman, never going gray or getting wrinkles?

all.”

“Moon Goddess,” I murmured to myself as I looked over the bakery case at the cakes for sale. “Guide us For a moment, my vision swam. Doubled.

Quadrupled. I closed my eyes tight and pressed my fingers to the spot between my eyes. The small flare of pain there faded under the pressure, and when I opened my eyes, my vision was fine.

I’d been meaning to check in with an enclave eye doctor for the past few weeks but had been putting off the appointment. I knew my vanity wasn’t going to help me, but I hated even the thought of needing cheater glasses for reading.

So far, I’d been able to ignore the small issues with my sight, but I had to admit they were getting more frequent.

“That one,” I said to the clerk, pointing at the tall chocolate cake festooned with pastel flowers. “Please write, ‘Happy Birthday, Little Star’ on it.”

I paid for the cake and carried the box with me toward home. Wanting to avoid crowds so I could get it back as fast as possible, I decided to take a different route home. Just as I turned the corner to a new hallway I’d never used, the lights got so bright it was like a flash of lightning. Then, the hallway plunged into darkness.

At home, I put the cake on the table and cursed myself for dropping it. It could be salvaged, but the icing was smeared along the inside of the lid. I definitely needed to make that appointment with the eye doctor. The flash of light and dark hadn’t been the lamps along the way, but my own eyes.