Rebirth of the Broken Luna A Second Chance at Luna's Heart novel Chapter 481

Chapter 481

LAKE

I sat in the kitchen with Riley and Ollie, eating cereal and trying to pretend yesterday hadn’t been scary even though it totally had been.

“You did good, Riley said, like he could read my mind. Maybe he could. His precognition was weird like that. “The portal strategy was tactically sound and effectively neutralized the threat.”

“I was scared,” I admitted quietly. “What if I’d gotten the angle wrong? What if the portals hadn’t worked? What if-

“But they did work, Ollie interrupted, reaching over to squeeze my hand. You saved Uncle Thorne and Marcus and everyone. You’re a hero.”

“I’m not a hero, I protested. ‘I’m five.”

You can be both, Riley said matter-of-factly. ‘Age doesn’t determine heroism. Action does. You took action when others were in danger. That’s definitionally heroic.”

I poked at my cereal, watching the pieces float in the milk. Yesterday had been so weird. One minute I was in bed, the next the lights went out, and then I heard shouting from the basement.

I’d known something was wrong. Known Uncle Thome needed help. And I’d remembered the conversations Riley and I had been having about tactical applications of my portal abilities.

How I could open gateways to anywhere I’d seen clearly or been before.

Including the sun.

Well, not directly to the sun because that would be bad. But to the sunlight, to the bright daylight outside, and channel it through portals positioned in the basement.

Portable UV lights. Powered by dimensional magic instead of electricity.

It had seemed so obvious in the moment. Now I wasn’t sure if it had been smart or just lucky.

It was smart, Riley said, definitely reading my mind somehow. “You identified a problem-UV lights needed electricity and electricity was compromised

You found an alternative power source-solar radiation accessed through dimensional gateways. You implemented it quickly and effectively. That’s good

problem-solving.”

“But what if the bad people had gotten out?” I asked. “What if I hadn’t been fast enough?”

Then Uncle Thorne and Marcus would have handled it differently, Ollie said. “But they didn’t have to because you were last enough. Stop worrying

about what-ifs.”

I wanted to. But the what-ifs kept spinning in my head.

What if the nightwalker had escaped? What if he d hurt people? What if my portals had failed and it was my fault?

“Lake, Riley said seriously, putting down his spoon. “Precognition shows me possible futures. Last night, I saw multiple versions of what could have happened in the futures where you didn’t help, people got hurt. In the futures where you did help-which is the one we re living in now-everyone survived

122

11:22 am

Chapter 481

You made the right choice.”

‘You saw the future?” I asked.

047

‘Possible futures,’ he corrected. ‘Multiple branching timelines based on different choices. Your choice to help created the best outcome. So stop second- guessing yourself.”

That made me feel a little better. Riley’s precognition was usually right about things like this.

“Do you think Dad’s mad?’ I asked. “He wasn’t here because he was having alone time with Mom. What if he’s upset that we handled things without him?

“Dad’s not mad, Ollie assured me. “He’s probably relieved everyone’s okay. And maybe a little impressed that we have security protocols.”

“We do have good security protocols, Riley agreed. “Though we should probably refine them based on last night’s experience. Add redundancies, identify additional failure points, create more response options.”

‘You want to make our security protocols better?’ I asked.

Obviously, Riley said. “Last night proved we need to be prepared for attacks on our home. If we’re going to be involved in defending the pack, we

should be properly trained and equipped.”

‘We’re five,” I pointed out again.

And yet we successfully defended against infiltrators,” Riley countered. “Our age doesn’t change our capabilities. We should be utilizing those

capabilities more strategically.”

Sometimes Riley talked like an adult in a kid’s body. Which I guess made sense given where we’d been, what we’d experienced at the facility.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify