Page 197 of May: Bloom & Bane

“Skullberries?” I smile, leaning down to scoop him into my palms. “Those sound absolutely delicious.”

They are very sweet, Droot hums, his ears twitching as his light shifts from red back to a soft, happy amber. Big Bony Bird said if Droot stayed in the corner and ate his berries like a good Droot, he would make The Sun bloom even brighter. He tilts his fluffy head. Did you bloom bright?

“The Sun is going to talk to the Big Bony Bird when he wakes up,” I mutter.

Nook gets the shower started for me, the water already at the perfect temperature by the time I step inside.

“Thank you, Nook. You take such good care of us.”

Steam curls against the glass, swirling into the shape of a tiny heart. I press my forehead to the warm tile and try to retrace last night through the blur of venom. Ashán almost shifted completely for the very first time. He was so beautiful⁠—

The shower door whispers open behind me, and the scent of freshly sliced cucumbers wafts through the steam. He wraps himself around me from behind. He holds on like the water might steal me away.

“Sage?”

“Please,” he rasps, his voice barely clearing the spray. “Just hold me. Just for a minute. Then I’ll tell you everything. I promise⁠—”

“I’ll hold you as long as you need, Vaelí.” I press a kiss against his ribs. “You don’t have to tell me until you’re ready.”

Subtle tremors shake his body as the water pours down over us both. My arms stretch as far around his waist as they’ll reach. We stay intertwined for so long, my legs start to fall asleep.

“I love you, Sage.”

He squeezes me tighter and lets out a long, shaky exhale.

“Eden,” he murmurs, wiping a hand down his face. “We have to get out.”

“We can stay as long as you⁠—”

“No,” he interrupts, nodding at the bathroom window. “Therael is crossing into the meadow. He’ll be here any minute.”

The next few minutes are chaos. Sage grabs me from the shower and snatches towels with a vine while another lifts my robe off its hook. By the time I’ve wrung out my hair, the trembling male I was just holding in the shower is gone. His petals have smoothed, his spine is straight, but the grief is still there. I can feel it as if it’s my own.

“I’m sure he’s checking on you,” I murmur while I slip a dress on. “He was here yesterday. Though I’m sure you don’t remember because of the fever.”

Sage stops combing his hair with his claws. “He was here?”

“For about an hour.” I smooth my dress down. “He’s the one who taught me about the níva loop. You really don’t remember any of it?”

“Not really,” he murmurs. “I thought I dreamed of him.”

I hear the familiar sound of the door opening downstairs.

“Sage, Eden. We are downstairs, and we would like to talk to you whenever you are ready,” Therael calls.

“We?” I squeak. “Who is we?”

Sage closes his eyes and tips his head back, quietly asking the ceiling for strength under his breath.

“Our house smells like chocolate and woodsmoke—which means he brought Damon.”

“Damon. The one who drew the mark on you? The one who hit on you?” I smirk.

“He didn’t—it wasn’t—” Sage pinches the bridge of his nose. “He said he wished I were one of his. I think he meant one of his charges.”

“He totally thought Sage was hot,” Ashán cuts in. “I felt it.”

I stifle a giggle.