Page 59 of May: Bloom & Bane

oh, how i miss you, røsae

—THERAEL

By the six gods. Watching her paint is more excruciating than I ever thought it would be.

The more I attempt to focus on Sage’s raw, unrefined power, the more my gaze is pulled back to her.

Each tiny flex of her paintbrush is a choreography I have memorized over a thousand lifetimes. As the seconds tick on, Eden’s bright, copper hair seems to deepen, morphing into the rich burgundy I’m accustomed to waking up beside.

Oh, how I miss you, Røsae‡. (Little rose)

For a brief moment, I am no longer in a ruined meadow trying to protect a young reaper’s bond like I failed to do for my own. I’m in a garden that smells of rosehip and gum arabic, watching her paint the very stars I placed in the sky for her. My chest aches from the weight of what we’ve become.

“Therael? Are you okay?”

Eden’s voice shatters the illusion, and I realize I’ve been holding my breath.

I am one of the gods who made this world, and I am currently being pitied by a girl who doesn’t even remember her own last name.

I force my lungs to expand. The air tastes of Sage’s ash and Eden’s hope. A bitter combination.

“I am merely observing your technique,” I manage to say.

I glance down at the canvas she’s working on. The top half is painted blue, and beneath it, she’s beginning to layer the rose-colored pigment she picked up in the kitchen. It looks like a bruise on the sky.

It looks like my heart.

I need to look away from the canvas before I do something undignified… like weep in front of my charge.

I clear my throat and turn back to Sage, who’s watching me with those knowing purple and gold eyes.

Of course he noticed. He’s bonded to an empath, vhilshen‡. (Idiot) Her instinct is bleeding into him whether he realizes it or not.

“You’re staring at her.”

“I am simply observing,” I correct.

“You’ve been observing for the last seven minutes without blinking.”

Fair.

“Sage—” I start.

“Whatever you’re thinking about—” he says, his voice dropping into the register of his other half. “Stop.”

I almost smile. Almost.

“You have nothing to fear from me, Little Reaper.”

“I know I don’t.”

The absolute certainty in his voice takes me back thousands of years. I can’t help but admire how his ego has grown since she has awakened. That reaper blood is definitely starting to merge. I was worried his soft nature wouldn’t be enough. Clearly, it isn’t going to be an issue.

A cold breeze cuts through the meadow, and the familiar scent of dark chocolate and woodsmoke assaults my nostrils. I close my eyes briefly.

“Lesson is over for the day, take Eden inside, Sage.” I rasp. “I will be back for another soon.”

He takes one look at my face and gathers Eden from the ground. His little bunny familiar leaps into his hair, and they walk inside without another word.