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The glittering portal of Xioné shimmered, a tear in the very fabric of the Ephedian sky. On one side stood the quaint, Earthly town of Sunny Bay. On the other, the majestic, singing crystal spires of the palace of Ephedia.

Auriana danced with a candelabra. Talia tapped her foot, finally relaxed. Carissa beat a rhythm on her shield.

Iris smiled, her hand instinctively going to the crown that now sat permanently upon her head. It felt heavier than her Earthly hair clips ever had. "It’s good to be home, Mephisto." lolirock home

The next morning, the palace staff was bewildered. Princess Iris was in the royal kitchen, sleeves rolled up, trying to explain what "dough" was to a very confused, four-armed Voltan chef. Princess Auriana had somehow gotten the royal laundry room to produce a giant, inflatable swimming pool which she was filling with rainbow-colored bubbles. Carissa was using her gem powers to build a go-kart track in the throne room, and Talia was writing a rulebook for a board game called "Defeat Gramorr-opoly."

Iris leaned on the railing. "I miss my guitar. And my dad." The glittering portal of Xioné shimmered, a tear

"My darling Iris," the ghost-queen said. "A throne does not make a home. The heart does. Remember the song you played on Earth, in that little garage with your friends? That was real magic. Don't forget it."

That night, unable to sleep in her impossibly large, perfectly silent bed, Iris walked the halls. She found herself in the old music room. Her mother's lyre sat on a pedestal, glowing faintly. Next to it, a holographic recording flickered to life. Queen Eleanora’s image appeared, warm and kind. Auriana danced with a candelabra

She didn't play a royal anthem. She played the clumsy, wonderful melody she and her friends had written in their Sunny Bay hideout.

One by one, the Ephedians stopped. They had heard magic before—the magic of gems, of spells, of crystals. But this was different. This was the messy, heartfelt rhythm of belonging.