Page 171 of May: Bloom & Bane

“Sage. Go to Eden. I’ve got the door.”

“Wait!” Kaeran shouts.

He rolls his shoulders and stands to his full height, bell pointing towards the staircase.

“... I understand.” The words seem to cause him physical discomfort. “You thought I was a threat to your mate. To the—” His bell dips in a rigid bow. “I sensed something I had no right to name.” He pauses. “That was… an overstep. I would have done the same… worse, probably.”

Famine’s eyes widen slightly.

“We will give you your time,” he says. “But if the bond is not sealed by the time that bloom opens… we will be back.” He jabs a finger at me, the gruffness rushing back.

A tense silence falls over the meadow.

“Deal,” I mutter.

Kaeran gives me a stiff nod before he turns on his heel. Famine’s hollow eyes linger on the front door for a fraction of a second longer, a silent check on Eden’s safety, before he slips into the tall grass, his gaunt frame swallowing the distance in a single heartbeat. Pestilence follows, his robed form blurring at the edges before dissolving into a cloud of black moths. Death is the last to leave, simply disappearing as if he had never been there.

Damien holds his guard, staying planted in the center of the porch, his stitches stretching as his chest expands with labored breaths.

“I’ll watch over the yard, Sage,” he murmurs over his shoulder. “Go ahead. Go check on Eden.”

“Thank you,” I breathe, not waiting for his response before I turn and take the stairs three at a time.

Ashán? I call out internally. Ready to check on our girl?

The silence is deafening. There’s no dark current of energy or possessive snarl. There’s… nothing.

The Horsemen are gone, I reassure him. She’s okay. Talk to me.

Not a single shred of shadow answers my call. His consciousness has completely pulled back.

He really thinks he’s a monster now…

I throw the bedroom door open. Eden is sitting on the floor, under the window, with her hands pressed tightly over her ears. Her knees are pulled to her chest, eyes squeezed shut as her small body shudders with muffled sobs.

“Saevúra.”

I press my palms right over hers, adding a second barrier against the world. I press my forehead against hers, projecting nothing but warmth, safety, and immovable calm into the bond.

“I’ve got you,” I whisper against her temple. “They’re gone, Eden. The clearing is empty. The house is quiet. It’s just me. It’s just Sage.”

“It was louder than it’s ever been before,” she whispers as her eyes crack open. She slowly lowers her hands. “He was so angry, Sage. I’ve never felt something so…”

A lump forms in my throat. I squeeze her closer, burying my face in her hair as my wings tuck tighter around us.

“He’s not angry anymore,” I murmur.

Down our bond, where an intensely protective presence hums alongside my own, there is a terrifyingly icy void. I reach into the dark, silently begging my other half to surface.

Ashán. Please. She needs you.

Eden’s brow furrows, her wet lashes blinking up at me.

“Sage… why can’t I feel him?”

CHAPTER 48

i like your stitches