Sera touched the moonstone pendant, no longer hidden beneath her dress but shining proudly for all to see. As long as she had it, she would be connected to them, to Leela and her mothers and her beloved City. She would be able to see them and they her. She would not truly lose them.

Her mothers were standing by the dais, tears in their eyes.

“We love you so much, Sera,” her orange mother said.

“We will miss you,” her green mother echoed.

“I will miss you too,” Sera said. “But you will always be with me.”

“And you with us,” her green mother said.

Her purple mother touched her cheek.

“As long as the stars burn in the sky,” she said, “I will love you.”

Sera’s throat was too swollen to speak. She stepped onto the dais and stood in front of Leela.

“How far we have come,” Sera said, “from climbing the temple spire at night.”

Leela smiled. “That seems a lifetime ago.”

Sera looked out over the sea of faces, staring at her with hope and admiration. “Take care of them,” she said.

“I will,” Leela promised. They held each other tight, their hearts beating in unison, and there was no need to blood bond for them to read each other. Leela pulled away and took out the ancient iron knife. When she cut into Sera’s arms, Sera welcomed the pain. It sharpened her senses. She was not afraid. She was going to a different home, that was all. Home didn’t have to be one thing or another—it didn’t have to be the place where you were born. It could be wherever those you cared about were. Sera suddenly thought herself lucky, to have two homes.

She turned and gazed at the stars as Leela swept a hand to remove the barrier and Sera stepped out into space.

“Goodbye,” she whispered, to the stars, to her mothers, to Leela, to her City. Then she fell.

She landed with a hard thud that sent her sprawling on the ground.

When the dust cleared, Agnes and Leo were standing over her.

“Are you all right?” Agnes asked.

Sera sat up. They were still on Braxos, in the ruins of the Alcazar. The fountain had cracked in two. The tether had vanished and Wyllin and Elysse were gone.

“They just . . . faded,” Leo said. “And then the fountain broke.”

Sera looked up at the sky.

“Is the city moving?” Agnes asked quietly.

“Yes,” Sera said. “It is. At long last.”

“Are you all right?” Leo asked.

“Yes,” she replied. “I am sad to lose it. But I am also happy for them. I do not regret my choice. It was no choice at all, really. It was what I was meant to do.”

He smiled and she laid her hand against his chest, feeling his heart beat beneath her palm.