Serve and Protect

Chapter 18

Adora stood frozen in place, unable to form a single coherent thought under the stare of Chief Angella Brightmoon.

"Mom!" Glimmer cried, sounding almost more scandalized than surprised. "What are you doing here?"

Angella ripped her gaze away from Adora and narrowed it at her daughter. "I had an extremely challenging day and I decided to— Wait, why am I explaining myself? This is my home!"

"Please, Mrs. Brightmoon," Bow pleaded in a tone that was much less offensive than his friend's. "It's not what it looks like."

"So you're telling me that I'm imagining a member of the most dangerous gang in Etheria standing in my spare room?" Angella snapped. Bow winced.

"Ex-gang member, Mom," Glimmer said. "Where else was she supposed to go?"

The room fell silent. This seemed to snap Angella out of her tantrum. She turned her attention back to Adora with a look of surprise. "Is that true?"

Slowly, Adora nodded. The last conversation she had with Etheria's chief of police replayed in her mind. She shrank back in shame remembering their stormy argument and the way she'd vowed to find her own way to destroy the Horde. And now here she was, living under Angella's roof like a squatter and no further ahead than before. If Adora had a tail, it would be firmly tucked between her legs.

With a heavy sigh, Angella stepped back from the doorway and motioned for everyone to follow her. Adora, Glimmer, and Bow exchanged uneasy glances as they fell into line and marched upstairs to the living room.

"Sit," Angella said, taking a seat in an elegant winged-back armchair that made her look like a queen on a throne. "Tell me everything."

Adora hesitated, clutching her notebook to her chest. She didn't want to get Glimmer into any more trouble than she already was.

Glimmer, however, didn't seem to share the same concerns.

"Adora was helping us build a case against the Horde," Glimmer said without a hint of hesitation. "She was our woman on the inside."

Anger flashed across her mother's face once more. Angella opened her mouth, then seemed to think better of it.

"We figured if we gathered the evidence on our own, you wouldn't have to worry about breaking police procedures," Bow said.

Angella sighed and massaged her temple. "Police procedure was never my concern." She turned her eyes to Adora. "I was worried about your safety. We talked about this."

"I know," Adora agreed sheepishly. "But I couldn't just sit there and wait for things to happen."

"So instead you joined forces with my teenage daughter and her best friend." Angella did not sound impressed.

"Pretty much," Glimmer said. She folded her arms defiantly, and Adora wondered if this was how most daughters and mothers behaved with one another. "And we were doing really great work until..." Now, Glimmer faltered. She shot Adora an apologetic look. Bow took Adora's hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze.