A Clover and a Bee

Everyone stares at Lark, waiting for her to speak. It’s the most powerful she has ever felt. She could draw this out for as long as she wants. But she won’t. She opens her mouth to speak: “Her name is--” “Wait,” Dom says quickly, “Don’t tell us. Not until we’re ready to go.”

Lark rolls the apple around in her hand, examining it from every angle. She looks up from it skeptically. “How is this supposed to prove that you’re a mage?”

Mercury leans forward in his seat, his head in his hands. The back of his skull aches where the bat had struck him. Elysia, Crimson, and Luna watch him cautiously, but he ignores his audience. He would prefer not to make eye contact with them. He had made a lot of noise when Quentin hit him: his body landed on creaky floorboards, the resulting thud echoing through the house. The twins, sound sleepers, didn’t wake up, but Lark started bawling. For the first time--and hopefully the last--her father scared her. Mercury was conscious, but stunned, when Luna burst into Lark’s room, having been drawn in by the ruckus. She helped him downstairs and to the couch, and she insisted on not calling the police (“Mercury would just run away before they got here. It’s not like we can stop him,” a prediction Mercury confirms). “Can I get you anything, Mercury?” Luna asks as she crouches down next to him. “Coffee. Black.” Luna raises an eyebrow at the entitlement in his voice, but she compli...

Luna isn’t exactly shocked when she sees her little sister’s Simstagram post: a glass of wine with a fittingly somber black and white filter, followed by the description “should have seen this coming. #cursed” According to their brother Solaris, Nova’s boyfriend Mercury disappeared, leaving Nova no explanation for where he went. While Luna feels for her sister, she isn’t exactly surprised. Mercury didn’t seem like the reliable type the few times she met him. In contrast, Luna’s life is quite boring. She’s fine with it, though. She might be nothing more than a baby warden right now, but at least her life is uneventful. She’s more than happy to settle for uneventful--she’s seen the other side of that coin and she doesn’t care for it.

"Oh. MY. GAAAWD" Quentin winces. He knows exactly what's going on. Despite all of her complaints about her family, despite her constant worrying about them intruding on their life in Aurora Skies, despite all of that, Luna is on Simstagram, stalking her siblings. "Quen, look!" Luna shoves her phone in his face, "Can you believe it?" He squints at the screen,"Umm, Nova has a boyfriend? That's nice, hon." "Ugh, no! It’s not nice--it's Mercury! MERCURY!" Quentin stares at her until she lets out an exasperated sigh, "You don't get it." "No, I really don't." Luna rolls her eyes as she taps Elysia's number on the screen of her phone. It rings once, then Elysia picks up. "Did you see it?" Elysia's voice is so loud that Quentin can hear it across the room. He retreats to the bedroom in search of peace and quiet.