Chapter 4: The Queen’s GalaAnd though the colony had called this place home for far longer than any one of their kind could remember, over the course of recent days, the lands had become barren and the fruit of the sacred tree grown bitter. So it was, when the Wise Queen gathered up her children to watch the great ships sailing against the night sky. With their silver sails unfurled, the sleeping young queens set out in search of a new home. A home once again overflowing with the gifts of milk and honey.
—Selected passages from The Book of the Origin by Bella Aurelius Nobilis, Modern Language Translation
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Lina stood outside the door to Arabel’s apartment, bouncing on her toes while waiting for Arabel to answer. She had been day-dreaming all week at work, thinking of this very mom
