Once we were inside, we saw countless bleachers that stretched to the stars. I spotted Mama chatting with Frankie’s moms, Dee and Pam. Next to them, Zeran’s mom, Sidda, was talking to Principal Ollie. His father, Commander Rovey, had returned to the Dark world. Zeran acted like he didn’t care, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that he was still mad at his father. Maybe it would take some time for them to work it out, or maybe they never would. No matter what, I would be here for Zeran if he ever wanted to talk about it.

The orisha council sat on their thrones as we found seats. Eli’s grandmother, Nana Buruku, who embodied the spirit of the earth, sat on a throne covered in lush green vines. She wore a billowing purple dress, and her gray hair was done up in braids. Next to her sat Oshun, the orisha of beauty, looking, well, beautiful. She wore rings around her neck of alternating silver and gold, and her throne was bedecked in jewels.

Sitting in the middle was Eshu, the god of balance. His throne was swirling light and dark in perfect harmony. Ogun was next with his hound, General, lying across his feet. His throne was all metal. Finally, my eyes landed on the last throne, and my chest tightened. Papa sat there, newly elected to the council. His throne wasn’t a throne at all. It was an exact copy of the old blue recliner at home. I smiled, remembering all the times I sat on his lap in that chair, listening to his wild stories. It turned out that they weren’t so wild after all.

Yemoja swept forward with waves lapping at her ankles and bowed to the council members. “I hereby relinquish my claim over this sanctuary and leave it in your capable hands.”

“Thank you, Yemoja,” Nana said before turning to the crowd. “Across the world, each council is holding a similar meeting with the people of their sanctuary. It is our hope that today we will start the process of healing old wounds and forming lasting friendships.”

“To that end, we have decided that there must be changes if we are to move forward in peace now that the Lord of Shadows is gone,” Oshun continued. “We know that the magical creatures have grown tired of living in the shadows, but you’ve seen firsthand what chaos your presence brings to the human world. We don’t have all the answers, but we believe the best course of action will be to invite representatives from each of your species to meet with us to find a solution that will satisfy everyone.”

There was some rumbling in the crowd, but no one spoke up. It was a big step forward that the celestials were willing to listen to the same creatures that the Lord of Shadows had recruited to his side.