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She smirked in satisfaction. “Good girl. I hope you’ve learned a valuable lesson today. I’ve tried to protect you from that evil Nightmare’s influence, and you allowed him to corrupt you anyway. Don’t you see how much damage he’s done to you after only a few minutes of conversation? He’s trying to turn you against your family who loves you, all in order to limit your potential and steal your powers. For your own good, it’s time to let go of this limiting fantasy of yours; he’s dangerous and thus you shouldn’t associate with him any longer. Now I’m finished with this trying conversation.”

I said nothing. At my extended silence, Mother sighed and waved me away as if she were shooing a fly. Without another word I obediently left, as relieved to depart as she seemed to let me go.

* * *

I frozein the threshold of my bedroom to stare in stunned amazement:Stardustfloated above my bed, her rainbow-colored eyes riveted to the doorway. The moment she saw me, she morphed into a heart.

“Eden!“ She tackled me in a fluffy hug and bestowed several airy kisses all over my face.

My surprise melted into fierce relief as I snuggled her close. “Is it really you, Stardust?”

“Of course. How many clouds do you know that are as adorable, smart, and talented as myself?”

Her typical Stardust response not only assured me she that she was indeed real, but brought a rare smile to my lips. “I feared you were gone forever.”

“Of course not,” she said. “Loyalty is an essential characteristic, not only for a detective but for a best friend.”

Best friend...my heart swelled at her words and I hugged her close. “I missed you.”

We settled on the bed, Stardust curled in my lap as I pet her. With each stroke, the wound her absence had inflicted on my heart slowly healed, dissipating some of the suffocating darkness that had shrouded me ever since I’d entered the Nightmare Realm.

Stardust peeked up to anxiously search my face, her own expression clouded with worry. “Are you alright?”

So much had happened since her departure that I didn’t even know where to begin. As I searched for words, she continued studying me as though I was one of her latest clues.

“You seem...brighter. Is it because of Spiderweb? I know you thought he was paired with Shade even though it was obvious the two are siblings.”

I gaped at her. “How do you know that?” At the time of her departure she’d been just as misinformed about their relationship as I’d been. She shifted guilty, taking a sudden interest at the ceiling rather than me.

“I wasn’t exactlyspyingon you, I just wanted to be sure you were alright. I’ve been so worried about you, all alone here with no one but your creepy relations, but I didn’t dare return before now; I was afraid you didn’t love me anymore, especially after you got a new cloud.”

Her eyes grew glassy at the mention of Stormy, and I silently cursed myself for having given in to that particular demand of Mother’s so easily. “Stormy isn’t my cloud, he’s Mother’s. I’d never abandon you.”

Stardust’s eyes brightened. “Nor I you. My absence was merely a journey to find myself.”

My lips twitched. “Did you discover what you were looking for?”

Her rainbow gaze seeped into mine—wide, earnest, and adoring. “No matter what happens, I realized you and I belong together. We’re a team.”

My smile fully emerged as her words filled me with warmth. No matter how alone I’d often felt, Stardust’s loyalty had been unfailing, just like Darius’s; I just hadn’t known it.

She nestled close for another cuddle and I tickled beneath her chin. “You’ve been rather clever spying on me; I didn’t notice you at all.”

She swelled importantly within my embrace. “Naturally. I disguised myself as all manner of things that always allowed me to remain close. After all, I’m a first-class detective.”

“Which is why the Investigations Team recruited you. Are you enjoying your time with them?”

She immediately deflated. “I may have been too hasty to assume it was my detective skills they were interested in. It was as you suspected: all they wanted was information about you, and no matter how hurt and angry I felt, I couldn’t give it to them. So they kicked me off.”

My heart swelled, both at her loyalty and the pain filling her eyes. “Oh Stardust, I’m so sorry.”

She snuggled closer with a dejected sniffle and I resumed petting her, savoring having her with me again, just the way it used to be.

I broke the comfortable silence first. “If you weren’t working for the Investigations Team, what have you been doing this entire time?”

“Investigating. What else would I be doing?”

I smiled again, something that felt easy to do now that she’d returned. “I’m not surprised. What’s your current case?”