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.

help but tease, a hint of jealousy

at him. "You're in a league of your own. Everyone's got their

were all important in different ways. There was no ranking

just nodded,

painted across

it from every corner of town. For a moment, it felt like the whole city had stopped

others were stunned, jaws dropped, completely

the fireworks kept coming, each one more beautiful and creative than the last. They stood there for

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

used to love the big

shoulder," Norton called, lugging a massive firework

make a call first," Calliope

asked, concern in

she replied,

well what Archie's home life was like. Things had gone badly in the past, and she