{Melisa}
Syux looked exactly the same.
The carriage rolled through the city gates, past the guards who nodded respectfully at Zephyra's sigil, and into streets Melisa had walked a thousand times. The same merchants hawking their wares. The same children running between legs, though a bit bigger now. The same mix of humans and nim and kitsune going about their lives.
But something was different.
Billboards.
Massive painted fuckin' signs on the sides of buildings, showing a pink-haired kitsune with a smug grin holding up a polished wooden wand.
"SUMMER WANDS," the text proclaimed. "MAGIC MADE EASY."
Isabella's face was everywhere.
[Of course she plastered her face all over the city while I was gone. Of course she did.]
Melisa laughed despite herself. It felt good to be home.
The summons came before she'd even finished unpacking.
A palace messenger knocked on her door, delivering a scroll sealed with the royal crest. Queen Aria requested her presence immediately.
