"Almost there," Victor said.
The words had barely left his mouth when a sharp, crackling boom split the air in front of Jessie, and a burst of fireworks exploded into bloom.
It was a peony — dusty pink, lush and extravagant.
The moment it blossomed in the sky, it seemed to pull the attention of the entire city at once. Jessie, sitting by the window watching it all unfold, had her face washed in its light.
Then came the smaller ones — tens of thousands of tiny meteors shooting upward against the wind, modest in size but overwhelming in number, together illuminating the entire black expanse of Aethelburg's night sky.
After blooming, they arced downward like a descending canopy, each one trailing a blazing path across the darkness.
From where Jessie sat, she had a perfect front-row view — she could even make out the ribbons of smoke drifting behind each burst.
She went still.
For a fleeting moment, she almost thought she'd been transported back to Southaven.
