he darkness of true night is much more peaceful than the darkness of the eclipse. Kamaria feels comfortable under the shine of the stars. She imagines they sing to her; stories of warriors and goddesses wind through her ears in a soft, ancient song. Although she has always been thrilled being alone, the night sky makes her feel less isolated. The pale girl accepts their companionship, and she often stands still to watch their tiny glowing orbs dance against her skin.

Wandering through the forest, the stars make her feel brave. Kamaria wonders if anything is quite as frightening as the shadows had been. The shadows crafted from the woods seem harmless when she knows that the monsters have been destroyed (at least, that is what her mother tells her). With the galaxies returning to the sky and Tiercel making their family whole (though this particular topic is a touchy subject), Islas has been granting her daughter more traveling privileges, and Kamaria has taken full advantage of them.

The sound of twigs snapping underfoot draws the starry girl’s attention away from her musings about her father. The smattering of dumortierite stones beneath her dark eyes sparkle from the glow of the stars surrounding her as Kamaria turns her head to peer into the more shadowy corners of the trail. “Who’s there?” she asks, feeling for tendrils of peace in case it is someone she should be avoiding.