“We’ll take your word for it,” Mama said, grimacing.

“I’ve heard that there’s a cloud off the coast of Azur that has a wonderful day spa,” Eleni suggested. “We should go there for facials and massages.”

Mama squealed. “Now that’s a vacation I would love.”

“How about you two go to the spa, and we’ll check out that asteroid?” I said.

Papa looked at our neighborhood and let out a deep sigh. “I haven’t known the world without the veil for a very long time. It’s going to take some getting used to.”

“One step at a time,” Mama said, squeezing his hand.

Across the street, Latesha was draping tinsel on her snowman. One of the darkbringer kids levitated nearby and handed her alternating colors. “I knew there was something special about this neighborhood,” she mused as her cousin LJ played on his phone.

“You always said it, cuz,” he replied absently. “You were right.”

Not everyone had come back to the neighborhood, but the humans that had were magically sworn to secrecy, which meant they couldn’t reveal the truth even if they tried. The few neighbors who didn’t like the idea of living among magical creatures decided to move. Predictably, the celestials had erased their memories along with the rest of the humans’ outside of the sanctuaries. They’d forgotten about magic, the threat from the Lord of Shadows, and that they’d been temporarily relocated to another planet.

I thought that was extreme, but the celestials insisted that it was for the best. There were still people like Gail Galanis who couldn’t be affected by magic, but more than likely, no one would believe them if they went raving about werehyenas and a man made of shadows.

“Yemoja and some of the other celestials will be leaving soon,” Papa said.

“What about Oya?” I tugged at the red-and-gold sash around my waist. I still hadn’t worked up the courage to talk to her yet. “Is she leaving too?”

Papa smiled broadly. “She’s going to stick around a little longer. She’s remodeling the old house on Forty-Ninth Street. The one everyone says is haunted.”

Eleni and I looked at each other. That was the house we’d seen on the crossroads that had held the Lord of Shadows back. It didn’t bring up good memories. Maybe Oya being there would change its reputation.

While Papa and Mama continued to the community center, Eleni and I went to Eli’s place, where he, Frankie, and Zeran had been playing video games all morning. Auntie Bae was bustling around the kitchen with Jayla on her heels. “Why can’t I take my dolls to school with me?”

“Because they never stop talking,” Auntie Bae said.

“Oh, come on, Auntie Bae,” one of the dolls Jayla was clutching cooed. “We’ll make excellent company at school. We can be teachers’ assistants.”