Stars sparkled on the surface of the pool; mirroring those in Virgo’s half-opened eyes.

  So gentle; so stellar. So submerged?

  Must be the carp again she yawned; always got more twinkly when everything else seemed to dim. Although Callisto was convinced it had something to do with the ambient tunes Virgo was so fond of. Tunes so helpful in drifting her off to-

  No, the tunes were still playing. Calm like the myriad of softly luminate stars above. Although one closer to home was getting a bit too excited. More like a blazing moon or a bouncing planet.

  “Where’s that - coming from -” she gasped, putting a hand over her eyes.

  “Awake, are we?” a voice asked.

  “Course I am with that torch,” Virgo said as not just the torch, but all the other lights dimmed.

  “I’m trying to rest, Andromeda.”

  “I know what your rests are,” the voice replied from the other side of the pool, in which the carp were still twinkling. “Won’t see you till next flight of comets, Virgo-Anne.”

  “Just as you love adjusting the light levels of crystals, Andromeda,” Virgo replied. “How did you know I was here, anyway?”

  “Well, I couldn’t see you being in the mood to surf rainbows after yesterday,” Andromeda yawned. “Even if Iris said the Triple Bow was coming.”

  “Don’t remind me,” Virgo said, sitting upright in her crystalline-framed and blue-padded couch. “It was like all the stars had gone out.”

  “That was you not a minute ago.”

  “To eclipse what may as well have been thirteen suns. Might as well have been one yesterday after Serencia’s party-stopper.”

  “Oh, come on,” said Andromeda. “It wasn’t that bad. It’s not like we didn’t know they were coming.”

  “I rather not know until we have to attend, thank you very much. She’s probably got their school reports and dietary requirements.”

  “Well, she does have to host. Can’t lose one before Its even started.”

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  “More than welcome to lose mine.”

  “A statement that speaks volumes,” Andromeda hummed.

  “Might as well say it,” said Virgo. “It’s bursting to come out.”

  “It’s Sphere-wide knowledge that when the Time comes, you start acting like a rain-cloud recluse,” Andromeda began. “It’s like watching Astraea slam into skittle asteroids, only I can count the days for each part of the sequence.”

  “Which won’t be long thank Celes-Spharencia,” Virgo thought-hummed.

  “Heard that,” Andromeda thought-spoke back.

  “Oh, you can’t deny this one,” Virgo said aloud. “Three dead before they got clear from the starting grounds; the fourth goes over to the Other Side. Astraea was beside herself. Callisto couldn’t speak about it for weeks. Do you think the Night Royals might want to make it a clean sweep?”

  “They might want to. But that doesn’t mean that they get to,” said Andromeda. “No one knows what will happen when the Selected go in - or rather out - There. Some prefer it. Others hate it and escape. Many die. And some of those deaths have been at the hands of those champions who forsook the Light and embraced the Night.”

  “I don’t see the point in it anymore,” said Virgo. “New people. Different abilities. Same fate.”

  “I’d be lying if I said ‘What’s the point’ hadn’t also crossed my mind, Virgo-Anne. But then the other thought - or rather the reminder - comes. That we are chosen just as they have been selected. Chosen to be part of the Light that faces the Night in all its... vastness... And don’t tell me you would rather not have had the songstress as your champion.”

  “Better than the not-so-demure prioress you ended up with,” Virgo said with a smile.

  “Jury’s still out on that,” said Andromeda. “Aren’t you even a little curious about whether this could be when history repeats itself?”

  “Depends what bit you’re talking about,” Virgo said, standing up. “Plus, if we don’t get moving; you’ll talk me into asteroid skittles.”

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