It didn’t take long before I was hearing wishes. I got a lot of girls asking for ponies for their birthdays. I got tired of planting the ideas in their parents’ heads, so I started ignoring them. I knew it was bad, but I was ready to rearrange the Sagittarius constellation to be half sloth instead of a horse.
I appreciated the wishes students made for luck on their tests. It would have been easier to wish for all the answers, but they wanted to earn the marks on their own. When I got one of those, I granted them increased memory retention, so they’d get more out of studying.
Sometimes, I’d get an expectant mother wishing for her child to be a girl. Sometimes it was for a boy, but it was all the same to me. I passed the wish on to Medda, Goddess of Childbirth.
It was a part of the job I hadn’t been expecting. My fellow Gods and Goddesses only heard the mortals if they were praying. I had a lot of wishes that should have been prayers, but I didn’t mind. I’d pass them on and then they were out of my hands.
At least, that was what I tried to do.
Sometimes, I would get wishes for the return of a missing loved one. Each time, I felt a pang of longing in my chest. If I could, I would have gone down to the Underworld, to Arius, and asked if the missing person was there. But since I wouldn’t ever leave the sky above me, I had to ask Breri to deliver the wish.
He was always flying up to me in the sky, the little wings on his wrists fluttering with excitement. He’d ask how I was doing and wait until I felt like answering him. But, as annoying as he was, he always seemed to know when I needed him.
“Hey Cel!” He called to me from the Little Dipper.
I sighed and put down the shooting star I was planning to send out. I used them to collect wishes. For some reason, mortals were more likely to wish on a shooting star than on anything else.
“Hello Breri.” I said without the same enthusiasm he gave me. “Please leave my constellations alone.”
He looked down at the spoon he was sitting in and counted the stars. His eyes bugged out of his head, a sure sign he was faking his surprise. “Five? I thought this was the Big Dipper!” he flew out and admired the spoon. “You sure know how to make them, Cel.”
“Celeste.” I corrected him, not for the first time. “I’m not a kid anymore.”
“Right, sorry.” He said flippantly. I knew the next time he visited, he’d call me Cel again.
“Do you need something?” I asked, figuring he’d stay in my star-space forever if I didn’t nag him.
He grinned and opened his bag. A silvery mist sprang out and formed into a young woman with a drawn bow. “Lune sent this.”
I stared at the girl. Her features were delicate, like a princess. But her form was true. A Huntress.
“She died on one of Lune’s hunts.” Breri babbled. “Poor thing. She was only fifteen. Lune wants you to make her into a constellation.”
I snapped my fingers and five stars stepped forward. I held each one up to the girl’s forehead, but none were right. I snapped again and two more stars showed up. The first one was still wrong, but the second shone like her eyes. I dismissed the six failures and whistled.
The star on her forehead glowed brighter, calling more stars. Eight stepped forward and arranged themselves along her form. I frowned and whistled again. The stars weren’t forming around he bow.
“Was she a hunter?” I asked after a third whistle failed to produce more stars.
Breri shrugged. “She was holding a bow.”
I told the stars to turn off so I could see the silver spirit. I hadn’t noticed before, but her eyes were scared. “She’s an athlete.” I realized. Her stance was too stiff for hunting, but her bow working was pristine. She was used to shooting targets. “I need to speak with Lune.”
I waved my hands and the stars carried the girl to my construction area. Breri led me to the pavilion on the mountain that housed the major Gods and Goddesses.
I was in luck. Lune was packing a bag for her next hunt. She felt my presence and turned around. “Celeste.” She said warmly. Since I couldn’t enter the pavilion, she came outside and gave me a hug. “How’s the sky?”
“Alright.” I lied. I’d never tell her how lonely it was. “Who did you send me?”
Her face fell. “Her name was Harriet. She was brave.”
“She wasn’t a warrior.” I pointed out.
“Please Cel.” Lune begged.
“You know I can’t. The stars are for remembering fallen heroes. Not stupid little girls.”
Lune’s eyes flashed silver over their natural grey. “She was not stupid.”
“Then tell me what makes her a hero.” I folded my arms, my bracelets clanging together. “Otherwise, I can’t help you.”
My sister looked away, ashamed, and I knew what was going on a second before she explained. “You loved her.” I guessed.
“And she returned it.” Lune implored me to understand a feeling I knew all too well. “She shouldn’t have been there. She followed me on my hunt.”
I wanted to help her, but there were rules I couldn’t break. Then I had an idea. “Talk to Arche. If he agrees, I’ll make her a constellation.”
Arche was the God of archery. If the girl had been anything close to a prodigy, I might be able to make her a symbol of perseverance.
I hugged Lune once more before she left and said goodbye to Breri. I watched him fly away, wishing I could have the same freedom. I sighed and turned around.
Standing a few feet away was the one person I thought I’d never see again.
“Ari.” I said under my breath.
My uncle stepped up to me, so close I hade to look up to see his face. “Cel.” He greeted me. His voice was colder than I remembered.
“I hear you have a soul in your sky.”
I wanted to fold myself into his arms like I used to. I wanted to run to our garden and talk for hours. But there was something different about him, and it scared me.
“She’s under review.” I explained. “She might become a--”
My words died in my mouth as Ari leaned down and kissed me. Any mortal would have suffocated in the length of our kiss, but for me, it was too short. Soon he was pulling away, a sad look in his eyes.
“I’m sorry.” He whispered. He never apologized to anyone but me and it made me feel special. “I wanted to see you one more time before…”
“Before?” I asked, my head still swimming.
He was looking past me, not meeting my eyes. “Before the wedding.” He said finally. “I’m marrying Azaleena tomorrow.”
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