Page 29 of May: Bloom & Bane

Mí’peora.

And in her lap… is a shimmering animal.

The fox.

My blood turns to ice.

I tuck my wings and aim straight toward her. I don’t care if I break my legs on the landing.

I hit the ground like a meteor, dirt and grass exploding around my feet. The impact sends a shockwave through the clearing.

I don’t take my eyes off the fox, but it vanishes into shadow before I can reach it.

“Get away from the treeline!” I roar. My voice is deeper than usual, similar to the raspy voice that whispers in my mind.

“Sage?” she murmurs, standing up from the log. “What’s wrong?”

“I woke up, and you were gone.”

Her smile falters. “Your eye… it’s turning black.”

My fingers instinctively fly to my face. The scent of her fear hits me harder than the landing did.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I rasp. “Please.”

She steps toward me.

I take two back.

“Your wing…” she whispers.

I glance over my shoulder. One of them is nearly fully black.

“I thought you were gone,” I say quietly. “I woke up, and I was alone. I thought I had dreamt you again.”

The thorns along my arms lengthen.

“I can’t lose you,” I choke. “Not when you just⁠—”

My knees give out, and I fall onto the frosted grass. My wings sag behind me, and the brambles splinter off into dust.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“You didn’t frighten me,” she lies, stepping closer until we’re less than a foot apart.

“I wasn’t angry with you.” I let my forehead fall forward until it rests against her stomach. “I’m angry at the idea of a world where you aren’t awake.”

—EDEN

A giant creature crashes to the ground, and the fox vanishes from my arms in a blur of silver light.

With the black wing, I don’t realize at first that it’s my guardian.

“Get away from the treeline!” he roars.

He sounds terrified.

“Sage?” I breathe, getting up from the log. “What’s wrong?”