Page 282 of May: Bloom & Bane

“Ashán…Sage…”

Their eyes snap toward me.

“I’d really love it if you’d take me flying.”

Their throat bobs.

“You do remember what happened the last time you took me in the sky, don’t you?”

The shadows vanish. The vines bloom with tiny white flowers. Every trace of irritation disappears from their faces so quickly it’s honestly a little embarrassing.

Ash clears his throat. “The crib can wait.”

“Indefinitely,” Sage says, helping me step out of the basket.

Jack smirks. “Thought so…”

CHAPTER 86

the size of a well-fed badger

Two weeks later⁠—

“Winnie made a few things for Vaelína,” Lucifer murmurs. “Tiny, soft velvets worthy of notre petite princesse.”

I look up from where I’m resting in the massive nest in the living room. A smile spreads across my face as he steps inside. He’s carrying a small basket lined with tissue paper, his pale eyes softening as they drift to the swell of my stomach. Ashán’s shadow shifts protectively beside me.

“She’s been sewing for days,” Lucifer continues, his voice warm with adoration. He lifts a tiny pink velvet gown from the basket. It’s so small in his grasp that it looks like it would fit a mouse.

I slap Sage and Ashán in the chest. “Looooook! Look how teeny!”

Sage pinches the sleeve between two careful fingers.

“... She’s supposed to fit inside this?”

Lucifer smiles. “Eventually.”

“You mean she’s going to be smaller than this?” Ash panics.

Lucifer’s smile widens. “Quite a bit.”

Ash slowly turns to look at my stomach.

Sage reaches into the basket and pulls out an impossibly tiny sock.

Ash stares. “... That’s fake.”

“It’s a sock,” I giggle.

“...For what?”

Lucifer chuckles. “Just what size did you imagine she’d be?”

Ash swallows hard. “I thought…” he rumbles, his shadows trembling around my belly. “Well, I knew she’d be tiny. But seeing those clothes…” he shakes his head. “It’s a whole different experience. I was hoping for at least the size of a well-fed badger.”

Sage studies the sock with growing concern. “How are we supposed to hold her without breaking her leaves?”

Lucifer lets out another low chuckle. He folds his hands neatly over his chest, watching the two monsters he was once terrified of losing their mind over a piece of pink velvet.