“Hey.” Estrella looked up from her book. Maddie stood above her, blocking the light of the sun shining through the glass dome of one of Sanctuary’s many gardens.

Sticking a finger in her book to hold her place and leaning back against the tree she had been reading under, Estrella asked “Yes?”

“High-Mother wants to see us.” Needing no further explanation, Estrella slid a bookmark into her novel and stood up, brushing the grass off her pink skirt.

As the two of them began their trek through the stone passages down to High-Mother’s private rooms, Estrella asked “Do you know why she wants to see us?” Training had already concluded for the day, and they had no other assignments or meetings planned. Maddie didn’t seem worried or panicked, so it probably wasn’t an emergency, but Estrella couldn’t think of what else it could be.

Maddie snickered, further piquing Estrella’s curiosity. “You’ll see.” She seemed to be in a state of amused glee about something.

Coming upon a door, they entered it to find High-Mother sitting neatly at the low table in the center of the room with her legs folded under her and hands folded on the table, cane at her side. Arin, who was already there, stood behind her, arms behind his back, relaxed as usual. Estrella didn’t see anything out of the ordinary until her eyes fell upon Alkaid, and the four strangers standing behind them. “So, to give you an update Estra.” Maddie whispered in her ear. “This is Eric,” She gestured at the tallest one, who was Black, with close-cropped hair and intelligent gray eyes, looking about them nervously. “Tatsuo,” Japanese, and built like a brick house with startling green eyes the color of acid, scowling at various occupants of the room. “Daichi,” Leaner and shorter than the other two, he could be a Japanese pop star with his sky-blue eyes and delicate features, if it weren’t for his stoic demeanor. “And Hwan.” Korean, blonde, and all but bouncing off the walls, he looked as if he was in Disneyland, gumball-blue eyes roving around, trying to take in everything there was to see. “And apparently,” Maddie went on. “They’re Luminescents who have no idea what Luminescents are.”

Not to mention what Maddie didn’t know, which was that Hwan was undoubtedly the stranger who Estrella had helped on the rooftop that night. Well, she thought, fixing her gaze on the four of them, this will be interesting.