Ela Voss finally stopped laughing—wiping tears from the corners of her amethyst eyes with the back of her hand. She turned to Liana, who was still sprawled dramatically across the bench beside her, hair a glorious mess from Ethan's noogie punishment.
"If you're both siblings," Ela asked, voice soft but genuinely curious, "how come you have different surnames?"
Liana froze mid-stretch—arms still raised above her head—then dropped them with a sheepish grin.
"Yeah…" Valeforia looked over her shoulder, eyes glinting. "I'm curious too."
"Same here…" Venya mused, crimson wings rustling as she propped her chin on her fist.
Everyone's attention shifted to Liana—even Aiden glanced over his shoulder, one eyebrow raised.
Liana exhaled through her nose—smile turning a little nervous, a little wistful.
"It's simple really." She shrugged one shoulder. "After our parents divorced, we took their surnames. I went with our father's—Starweaver. My brother took our mother's—Leilive."
