A Reborn Bride Pearl Emerging from Dust by Sally Garcia

"Don't worry, my brothers are pros at this. The fireworks they make are way better than anything you could buy at the store," Calliope said matter-of-factly, a confident grin on her face.

She had no doubt about their skills.

Portia nodded, "True, nobody's gonna play around with their own safety. If they're setting them off, they must be really good."

She looked up at the sky, her eyes full of excitement. "The ones we just saw were already amazing. Do you think the next ones will be even better?"

"Of course!" Calliope replied, her gaze brightening.

Silas, still holding Calliope's hand, glanced over at Quentin, who was prepping another round of fireworks. "Should I have brought some of my own? Maybe something extra special?"

Calliope laughed. "No need. My brothers brought enough to light up the whole neighborhood. Just relax and enjoy the show."

She turned back to the others, pride bubbling in her voice. "Quentin's been making fireworks since we were kids. He's a total genius, and he's even better at it now. Nobody does it like him."

She knew Quentin was talented, not just at fireworks, but at almost everything. Among their group, he was always the calmest, the most reliable, the guy you could count on for anything.

couldn't help but tease, a hint of jealousy in his

at him. "You're in a league of your own. Everyone's got their strengths, no need

her, they were all important in different ways. There was

just nodded, letting

of color, like a thousand stars painted across the winter sky. Red, blue, gold, green-the whole world seemed to glow under

anything anyone else had set off that night. In fact, you could probably see it from every corner of town.

others were stunned, jaws

more beautiful and creative than the

Calliope suddenly remembered the time. Uriah had already shown up, but Archie still hadn't arrived. That was odd; surely he'd finished dinner with his family

next! You used to love the big ones

Norton called, lugging a massive firework

let me make a call first," Calliope

asked, concern

getting worried," she replied, already pulling out her phone to dial

all too well what Archie's home life was like. Things had gone badly in the