The silence stretched for what felt like eternity, broken only by the sound of my own heartbeat thundering in my ears. The First Moonfire stood frozen, her silver-fire eyes locked on Stella's innocent face, as if she'd never encountered anything quite like my daughter's simple, devastating kindness.
*Grandmama?* the First Moonfire repeated, her voice barely above a whisper. The cosmic authority that had shaken reality itself moments before was gone, replaced by something almost... vulnerable.
*Uh-huh,* Stella nodded solemnly. *You're Mama's great-great-great-lots-of-greats grandmama. That makes you my grandmama too. And grandmamas are supposed to give hugs and make cookies and tell stories, not try to hurt people.*
I held my breath, acutely aware that we were balanced on a knife's edge.
