Mufu shifts on my lap, sensing my distress. I brush her fur from head to tail, several times in quick succession. The silver of the mirror shines softly under the light of the two chandeliers.
“What did she say before?” Olesia muses at last.
What exactly did Celestia say before? I close my eyes to recall her words. Did she lie about her meeting with the gagargi? No, she didn’t exactly lie, but spoke of another possibility, of sending the gagargi’s men away empty-handed as many times as need be.
“Why didn’t you tell us before?” I ask, because, to be honest, she didn’t gain us that much, regardless of her spell. Just a little more time together, a vague possibility of another chance to fight. “What will you do when he sends for you?”
“Will you gather around me, my sisters?” Celestia asks, sitting down cross-legged next to Alina. Rafa pokes my little sister with her nose, no doubt as baffled as I am to see her still so unconcerned.
Genuine. Celestia’s request sounds genuine enough, and Sibilia does join her on the carpet without hesitation. I decide to do likewise and settle between her and Alina. Elise takes ages to make up her mind. Eventually, she rises up from her chair and glides to take her place between Celestia and me.
“Merile, you asked me what I shall do when he sends for me.” Celestia takes hold of Alina’s hand, Elise’s hand. It’s more than a gesture; a reminder, not a command. I lower the mirror on the floor and reach out for Alina’s and Sibilia’s hands. I can’t recall the last time we were together like this. Was it on the train, after Celestia’s previous plan crumbled?
“I shall do everything that is within my power.”
But what Celestia doesn’t say means more. The ghosts must have realized this too, because they draw away from us, so far away that I can no longer see them in the mirror. They understand that this moment is private.
“Everything,” I whisper. Sibilia closes her fingers firmer around mine. “Everything may not be enough.”
And that’s a terrible thought. We’re the Daughters of the Moon, and Celestia is the oldest. I always thought that that was enough. But now it seems that…
“I do promise you one thing, my sisters”—Celestia meets in turn Alina’s eyes, mine, Sibilia’s, even Elise’s—“I will not let him take you from me. I will not ever leave you behind. Even if it will cost everything I hold dear in my life, nothing in this world, under the gaze of our celestial father, is as important to me as you are.”
My eyes moisten. I sniff, because I’m twelve, and I don’t cry. But Sibilia tears up openly and gasps for ragged breaths. Alina squeezes my hand. I echo the movement to Sibilia, and that’s where the comforting ends, because Elise has remained unmoved all along.
Celestia has failed us. Fair. It’s not fair to say so, because she tried, has tried as hard as anyone. And the reason she hasn’t told us any of this before is that…
“She was protecting them.”
I flinch so hard both Alina and Sibilia turn to stare at me. The hand mirror on the carpet shows nothing but my reflection. I shouldn’t hear the ghosts. I study my sisters to see if they, too, heard Olesia’s statement. Yes. Sibilia definitely did.
“I know,” Irina replies. From the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of the ghost rubbing her chin. I quickly turn to behold Mufu. Wrong. It feels wrong to look at the ghosts when they think themselves invisible. “And don’t I know it well.”
“I… I’m not sure if I should say anything,” Sibilia mumbles. I’m happy it’s her speaking, that if someone will betray the ghosts, it’s not me. She and me and Alina share a secret that doesn’t really belong to us, that isn’t ours to lay bare.
“Do speak,” Celestia urges our sister. “This is the council of sisters. I will not shun anyone for challenging me.” And with the last words, she turns to Elise. The traitor.
“You said…” Sibilia’s hand turns clammy in mine. Let go. Even so, I won’t let go of her. “You said that you mightn’t be able to defeat the gagargi as a Daughter of the Moon, but how about… That is, I’m no gagargi, but I think… Do you think you could defeat him as the Crescent Empress?”
What. What is she talking about? I stare at Sibilia, with my mouth hanging open. The ghosts stare at Sibilia, too. Celestia mentioned Sibilia learning a spell on her own, but could she really perform the most sacred of ceremonies?
“I’ve found a spell in the scriptures.” Sibilia blushes furiously. Sweat buds on her forehead. Somehow, her red hair blazes more than it did last night. “If I had a swan soul bead, I might… But it’s silly. Forget I spoke at all. We don’t have one. Really, just forget my speculations.”
“Irina…” Olesia nudges her sister. They’re hovering right behind Sibilia now.
“Yes,” Irina snaps. “Yes, I know.”
“Look at them, Irina, the poor daughters. Do you really want their deaths on your conscience? What use do we have for it in any case anymore? We are as good as dead! Worse than that!”
Impossible. The ghosts are arguing so loud that it’s impossible to ignore them anymore. Alina winces, shakes her hands free, and presses her palms over Rafa’s ears. I hold on to Mufu with my thus freed arm. The ghosts’ secret is not mine… “Anyone. Anyone who wants to speak can speak?”
“Anyone,” Celestia replies, but her attention lingers on Sibilia. She’s thinking our sister’s words, as if she still knew more. “Anyone present in this room.”
“Please, Irina.” Olesia tugs her sister’s arm. I don’t know why they’re so very present. Or I do. They’ve been fading for weeks, but now they’re losing control of both their souls and shadows. “She is not like our sister. She would never abandon the girls. I know it in my heart as surely as I have ever known anything.”
“Merile?” Celestia beholds me. She really wants to hear what I have to say. She’s treating me like an adult. Which means I should act like one.
“Anyone present in the room, did you hear that?” I say loudly, hoping Irina and Olesia realize I’m talking to them. Nervous. I’ve never been this nervous. The ghosts have always been able to hear us, even when we can’t see them. But it’s a different thing to listen than to hear.
“Fine then.” Irina sniffs, straightening her back. “Show yourself to them if you so wish. But if you turn out to be wrong, I shall never let you forget it.”
Olesia beams. She shuffles hurriedly to the tall mirror, and upon seeing herself in the reflection, pats her bun and fixes an escaped gray lock. “You shall not regret this.”
“Mirror,” I whisper. “Celestia, Elise, look at the tall mirror.”
Elise rises up first. Yet it’s not her who offers Celestia a hand, but Sibilia. When all of them stand before the mirror, Olesia greets them with a warm smile. It’s only after that that Irina glides to her sister.
Celestia nods as if she’d already known about the ghosts, but how could she? Elise is properly taken aback. That’s what it feels like to be revealed a secret! Alina waves at the ghosts, cheerfully greeting them now that they really want to be seen. I take hold of her hand, and we dash to join our sisters with Rafa and Mufu.
“Greetings.” Celestia bows her head at the ghosts. “Honored Irina, honored Olesia, it is a long time since we last met.”
The way she speaks… She knows the ghosts from the time before they became ghosts. How curious! And how many secrets has she got hoarded under that untouchable façade of hers?
“You were such a sweet little girl.” Olesia pinches my sister’s cheeks. Yes, they’re familiar with each other. But even so, Irina remains still, a displeased frown on her steep forehead. “Look at you, all grown up! The oldest Daughter of the Moon! The empress-to-be!”