Page 38 of May: Bloom & Bane

Out. My own pulse, frantic and useless.

There are two fires burning inside of me right now, and they will not stop confusing one for another.

“Nook,” I whisper. “Open the door. Please.”

The floorboards creak apologetically.

“Traitor,” I breathe.

The lights dim in guilty defeat. A cupboard opens somewhere behind me, as if a handful of snacks might somehow make up for the betrayal.

Tiny thumps catch my attention. Another cupboard swings open, and Droot pops his head out, clutching a pawful of banana crisps.

His ears fold flat.

Big Bird okay?

I sit down on the floor. “Come here, Droot.”

He hops onto my lap, stuffing every banana crisp into his mouth at once.

“You can feel it too, can’t you?”

His color pulses a worried shade of blue.

“Let’s wait for Big Bird together, okay?”

When I open my eyes, the floor is gone, and a green canopy billows softly overhead.

I blink a couple times.

I’m not curled beside Droot anymore. I’m tucked beneath blankets upstairs.

“Sage?”

He’s sitting on the floor, mismatched eyes locked on me.

“Hi, Saevúra,” he whispers.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he murmurs. “I’m sorry I had to leave earlier.”

I pat the bed beside me. “Come up here first. Then we can talk.”

He doesn’t move for a moment.

His wings pull tight against his back.

“I don’t think I should.”

I frown. “Why not?”

He looks down at his hands. “Because I’m not entirely sure what I am anymore.”

I pat the blanket again. “That makes two of us then, doesn’t it?”

He looks up at me.