“So how long have you known Chamberlin?” Rhea asked Athena as the SPACEPOP tour bus raced through space a few weeks after Geela’s takeover. The two girls had been trying to write a new song for several hours, but they weren’t getting very far. Luna was the most talented songwriter in the group, but she always kept the best lines for herself. Chamberlin had set their space bus coordinates for Hera’s home planet, Heralda, where the band’s next gig was scheduled. Hera was in the middle of the living room meditating with Roxie, Juno and Skitter were both working out, and Luna and Adora were happily napping.
“Chamberlin has been in my family’s service since long before I was born,” Athena said. Beside her, Mykie nodded along. “He’s a member of an ancient Felian race, born and bred to serve at the highest levels.”
“So instead of being born into royalty, Chamberlin was born into service?” Rhea asked. On the floor, Springle clumsily fiddled with the strings of Rhea’s guitar while Rhea took a break.
“Yes,” Athena said. “He is extremely good at his job. He’s a bit old school, but it’s appropriate given his position.”
“I wonder if he ever resents it,” Rhea said. “Being forced to take care of others, instead of being allowed to choose his path?”
“I asked him that once, when I was little and didn’t realize it was inappropriate for a princess to ask such questions,” Athena said. “He told me he would much rather have his job than mine. He enjoys tending to others’ needs. And he believes our royal obligations are far more challenging than his duties.” Athena smiled. “I must say I agree with him—living on our own without our usual tasks has been quite nice. I certainly would have liked to have more servants around to help with painting our logo on the space bus, but some freedom from our usual duties has been refreshing.” She nodded to Rhea. “Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if you hadn’t been born into royalty?”
“All the time!” Rhea said. “Because I wasn’t born into royalty. For a long time I lived a really different life. You know they didn’t discover I was a princess until I was five, right? I was living in an orphanage. I was moved to the palace after they discovered I have royal blood.”
“I heard that,” Athena said. “It must have been interesting living such a simple existence for a time. What was it like?”
Rhea shrugged. “I don’t remember much about my toddler years. But after all those years of having nothing—no servants, too little food, only one change of clothes—I certainly appreciate all of the privileges I have now.” She picked up her guitar, strummed a few out-of-tune notes, then went on, “The one thing I missed after I left the orphanage was affection. The nurses were very sweet to all of the other children and me. Once I was removed from their care and brought to the palace, I felt very alone much of the time. It’s been nice being here with all of you. It’s the first time I’ve felt like I have a real family.” She grinned. “I realize that sounds silly.”
Athena shook her head. “It doesn’t sound silly.” She and Rhea smiled at each other.
A moment later, Hera skipped into the room. “Chamberlin just told me we’ve entered the Heralda atmosphere.” She snuggled her pet close in her arms and cooed, “Aren’t you just so excited to visit home, Roxie? Aren’t you?”
Luna poked her head out of her sleeping pod, her eyes barely open. “Are we there?” Luna whispered. “Am I on? Where’s my juice?”
“We’ll be there soon,” Rhea told her. “We should be landing in a few minutes. You probably ought to start your beauty regimen now. The show starts in less than four hours.”
Luna looked panicked. “Why didn’t someone wake me sooner? You know it takes at least two hours to perfect my makeup, I need an hour to warm up my voice, and I haven’t even decided what I’m going to wear yet.” She stared wildly around the room. “Isn’t anyone going to lay out my outfit?!”
Rhea glanced at Athena and muttered, “I might take back what I said about enjoying living with all of you. There was a lot less drama when I lived alone.”
When the SPACEPOP tour bus landed on Heralda and the girls stepped outside, the destruction from Geela’s takeover was immediately obvious. Their transport was parked on a charred brown field. As far as they could see, Heralda was nothing but a dead wasteland. The sky was smoky and brown, and the only sound was the droning buzz of one of Geela’s Android ships flying overhead. Hera had been telling the other girls about her planet for days, bragging about endless fields of flowers, the lush, green prairies, and relaxing birdsong that filled her planet with hope and happiness. Now, all that was gone.
Hera scanned the horizon, her always-hopeful expression morphing into devastation as she realized what had become of her beautiful planet under Geela’s brief reign. Suddenly, Hera took off at a run. The girls raced after her as she ran from their ship. They all scrambled up a mossy hill, then came to a stop on a rocky overlook. Below them, more burned fields and a pile of rubble littered a narrow valley. It was obvious they were looking at the scattered remains of Hera’s former home. The elegant castle was nothing more than a pile of broken stones and colored glass.
“I’m so sorry,” Luna said, wrapping her arm tenderly around Hera’s shoulders. Hera dropped her head onto Luna’s shoulder.
The other three girls moved in around them, holding Hera up as she broke down and wept—for her home, her planet, and her people. “It’s all gone,” she sobbed. “The flowers, my animal shrubs, the fairy gardens, the birds … everything. It’s gone!”
There was nothing the others could say to make it better. The reality was, Geela had destroyed everything Hera held dear. The evil empress had taken Hera’s parents prisoner, destroyed a beautiful planet, and delivered fear and terror to the people of Heralda. While the other princesses of the Pentangle tried to comfort Hera, they couldn’t stop themselves from wondering if other planets had succumbed to a similar fate. Had Geela destroyed the entire galaxy? And for what? To exert her power?
“I spent my whole life nurturing and growing the gardens at the back of the castle,” Hera said quietly.
“Don’t worry, Hera,” Athena said. “Someday, we will rebuild our palaces, our planets, and our lives.”
Hera took a deep breath and announced, “You’re right. Geela may have started this fight … but we’re going to end it. That evil beast has no idea who she’s dealing with.”
* * *
“One … two … one two three four!” Juno screamed into her microphone, kicking off the last song of the SPACEPOP set a few hours later. The band had been rocking out on a spinning stage in the center of a small island on Heralda for nearly forty-five minutes. They were far enough from Hera’s family castle and the capital that Geela hadn’t yet had a chance to destroy the festival grounds. Fluffy trees and fairy gardens surrounded the stage, and the air smelled like cinnamon and clover. Now that they had seen how beautiful Heralda was, the other girls could truly understand the extent of the devastation near Hera’s home.
SPACEPOP was one of several bands that had been given a slot to perform during a weekend art festival. The crowd was small—and no one was really there for the music—but those who had stopped to listen to them play were energetic and seemed to be totally engrossed in SPACEPOP’s sound. A few of them even sang along, which thrilled Luna beyond measure.
At one point during their set, Rhea leaned in to asked Hera, “How do they know our lyrics?”
“No clue,” Hera shrugged. “But I love it!”
After witnessing Geela’s brutal destruction on Heralda that afternoon, the band had managed to channel their anger into a powerful performance. The lyrics of “We ’Bout to Start Something Big” felt more important than ever. Their mission was more urgent, and that intensity was reflected in their set.
As they wrapped up their final song, Luna looked at her bandmates and sang out, “Why be just an average girl?… You can go and change the world!”
Hera and the others chimed in, “Right here, right now! Can’t stop, won’t stop!”
When they wrapped their set, SPACEPOP took a bow and grinned at one another. “That was amazing! I rocked!” Luna gushed. “I mean … we rocked.”
An eager fan rushed the stage and cried, “You did rock! Luna, I love you!”
For a moment, Luna looked taken aback. In her life as a princess, she wasn’t accustomed to being approached by fans and commoners. Every interaction with the public was carefully scripted and arranged to ensure that she wouldn’t ever come into contact with germs or smelly people. But in the next moment, Luna seemed to remember she was a budding rock star, and instead of stepping back, she splashed a charming smile across her face and said, “Oh, wow. Thanks so much!”
“Can I have your autograph?” the fan begged. “I’ll pay you for it!” The girl rustled around in her bag, holding up a wrinkled note. “This is all I have—is it enough?”
Luna waved her hand in the air. “Don’t be silly. Of course I’ll give you an autograph. No need to pay.”
“Oh my Grock,” the young girl said, fanning herself. “Bradbury said you were nice. But I didn’t realize you would be this nice!”
“Bradbury?” Athena asked as Luna scrawled her loopy signature on the back of their newest fan’s shirt.
“You know … your biggest fan,” the girl said. “You met him on Lunaria? He’s been talking about you nonstop since your Air Bar show.”
“Really?” Rhea said, lifting an eyebrow.
The girl nodded earnestly. “Really. He told all of us to come today. He was super sad he had to work and miss it. He said you’re the next big thing.”
The girls exchanged a baffled look. “So, this Bradbury has a … following?” Athena asked finally.
“You don’t know about Bradbury?” the girl said, her single eye widening. “He is, like, the king of fan vlogs. He started one about you right after your show at Air Bar. I hope this doesn’t get him in trouble, but he even posted all the lyrics to “We ’Bout to Start Something Big” in his first vlog. My friends and I totally worship you! We’ve been dying to see you live. We all absolutely love your message.” The girl suddenly gasped and said, “Please please please please can I interview you for my blog? I only have sixty-four followers, but they’re really good followers!”
“Um,” Rhea said. “Sure?”
“Yay!” the girl cheered. Then she dug around in her bag again, searching for something. “Oh my Grock, this is so embarrassing. So, I don’t have my stuff with me right now, but if I’m at your next gig, can I interview you then?”
“Of course,” Hera said, leaning in to give her a hug.
“I love you, SPACEPOP!” the girl said, backing away. “Love! You!”
“Well,” Athena said, as soon as she was gone. “That went well.”
“We should really buy that Bradbury guy some chocolates or something,” Rhea said. “It seems like it might not be a bad idea to stay on his good side.”
As they made their way out of the festival, heading back to the tour bus to meet up with Chamberlin (who had returned to the bus to make a few necessary repairs while the girls signed autographs), the girls came upon a courtyard plastered with Geela propaganda posters. The so-called empress’s cold face stared back at them from every available surface. Posters were hanging from lanterns and shrubs and potted plants, and they littered the mosaic-tiled ground.
“This courtyard used to be filled with flowers and community yoga mats,” Hera said, looking around sadly. “It was a gathering place for the people of Heralda to recharge and relax.”
“It’s not very relaxing now,” Athena said.
“It’s downright creepy with Geela staring at us,” Hera shivered. “It feels like she’s here, watching our every move.”
Juno stepped up to one of the posters and sneered at Geela’s picture. “You can’t defeat us!” she hissed. “We will fight back. Just watch what SPACEPOP is going to do.”
On the other side of the courtyard, Rhea suddenly began to giggle. “What do you girls think? Doesn’t she look better this way?” she whispered. She stepped back, revealing the mustache and glasses she had drawn on the poster of Geela.
“Rhea!” Luna gasped, glancing around nervously. They were totally alone, but Hera was right: it felt like they were being watched. “You can’t do that!”
“I can,” Rhea said. “And I will.” She took a marker and began decorating another poster—drawing little spikes and a goatee on the empress’s face. After only a moment’s hesitation, Hera and Juno joined her. They laughed and scribbled, filling the posters with graffiti.
Athena and Luna exchanged nervous looks. “This is very childish,” Athena said.
“And we’re going to get in so much trouble if someone catches us!” Luna pointed out.
“Have some fun,” Rhea urged, making dots all over Geela’s face on another poster. “Trust me when I say it feels really good.” She handed Athena a marker and pushed her toward one of the posters. “Live a little.” Then she grinned at Luna and said, “You know you want to.”
Athena sighed. Timidly, she drew a huge, clownish frown on one of the posters—then began to laugh. In no time, every single one of the posters had been defaced, and all five of the girls felt a lot better. It was a tiny victory, a silly thing, but the act of making Geela look like a fool had helped to make the girls feel like they had gotten a little bit of revenge for what she’d done to Hera’s and Luna’s homes.
The princesses of POP high-fived each other, then raced away from the courtyard. But as they ran down a long tree-lined pathway to their tour bus, a dark figure stepped out of the shadows. “I saw what you just did,” the figure said in a low, growling voice. “And now I think the five of you need to come with me.”