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“Alaister...”

Julie stepped between me and Larissa and took the picture in her hands.

I looked at the young man standing next to my mother, his hands behind his back. He was pale, blond, and had the same unmistakable eyes as Julie. His face appeared just as fragile as hers.

Offset behind him stood a girl who was indistinguishable from him in color. According to Alice's diary, she was his twin sister and therefore Vivienna's mother.

“I guess that's the mayor.”

Miles pointed to the next person next to Amanda Westcode. A girl with long brown hair who resembled Alice more than Grace. Julie's cousin must have taken after her human father.

“I don't believe it.” Miles stepped closer, amusement in his tone. “That really is Bastien.”

He pulled out his cell phone and took a photo, earning a withering glance from Emely.

“What are you doing?” Julie took the phone from his hand and... deleted the photo.

I grinned.

“Excuse me, but that’s my…”

“What happens in this room stays in this room,” Julie interrupted him with a serious look and put the photo frame back on the table.

I stepped closer again to look at the young Bastien, who was standing offset behind Alarik and Alice. The tall young man with dark blond hair looked down at Alice at an angle. And he smiled.

Times seemed to have been better back then than they were now, even though Alice had written about tense situations. All of them, whether Quatura, Ruisangor, or Senseque, seemed to have gotten along well.

In the photo, each of them looked relaxed, or at least as if they belonged to the group.

It was also strange that my mother had been there. She, the well-organized and rule-abiding researcher who was constantly worried about me.

I noticed that all the girls wore blue sweater vests over the white blouses of their uniforms, and the boys – except for Bastien – wore green ones.

“Look, here. A book. Looks like a logbook.” Larissa held a thin A4-sized book bound in dark brown leather. “Records of the Dragonfly Society's projects and research.”

My curiosity, which was already at its peak, jumped straight to the next one.

“Listen. List of members’ names.” Larissa began to read aloud. “Firefly, Inkbird, Seeking Lens, Silver Snake, Leather File, Globe Finger and Shadow Eye.”

Her eyebrows furrowed, and she finally walked over to one of the two sofas and plopped down on it.

“These entries...” She looked at us, and I followed her to sit down next to her so I could take a look at the book. “It looks like they had something planned.”

October 3, 1997

Entry 1

Firefly calls for the founding of the Dragonfly Society. The secret society is intended to serve the advancement of intraspecies research and education about the species themselves. Its goals include a peaceful reorganization of the laws regarding the coexistence of the species, the elimination of falsely transmitted information, and research into the compatibility of the species.

Firefly plans weekly meetings. All members agree.

Spring Nocturne

Angus McRae

“I can't believe Alarik would have taken part in something like that.”

Emely sat opposite me, on the other couch, and the color faded from her usually bronze-toned face.