Word had already reached the palace by the time Luna arrived the next morning to formally resign — she could tell from the way conversations stopped when she walked into the staff quarters, the way eyes followed her with a mixture of pity and open curiosity that made her skin crawl.
"You don't have to do this in person," Diana said quietly, catching up to her in the corridor. "Mrs. Abara would understand if you sent word instead."
"I need to do it in person." Luna kept her chin level, her pace steady, refusing to let the whispers following her down the hallway change her stride. "I'm not going to let them think I'm hiding."
Mrs. Abara's office was small and cluttered, stacks of scheduling ledgers piled along one wall.
She looked up when Luna entered, and whatever composure Luna had be
