Page 257 of May: Bloom & Bane

His movements stutter.

We are a bond, Ashán. Your shadows and my light. You fought the curse alone, but you don’t have to carry the weight of this body by yourself anymore.

I weave my gold directly into his shadow tendrils. Where his bones are broken, our combined magic becomes the splint.

On three. We get up.

A deep breath expands his chest.

One.

Two.

Three.

With a unified roar, we push. The shadow braces, reinforced by my magic, snap his legs straight. The agony is indescribable. His body screams, every instinct inside of us begging for him to stop. But he doesn’t. Because for the first time since the curse took him… he isn’t fighting alone.

The bone fragments grind together within our flesh in sickening pops.

Our left foot swings forward, but it doesn’t land.

“Again,” he whispers.

Ashán—

“Again.”

A familiar spark flickers beneath all the pain, and with a shadow-slicked grin, we take our first step.

“Again.”

We take a second step.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The frantic sound of boots smacking against ice grows louder.

Ashán’s body freezes mid-stride.

Eden.

Her silhouette comes into view, her copper hair a mess.

“Ash!” she screams, relief spreading across her face. “Sage!”

The moment her foot hits the stone of our ridge, an unnatural pressure drops over the forest. A metallic shriek rips through the air as darkness pools rapidly into Ashán’s right palm. The shadow hardens, elongating into a staff topped by a sweeping bone blade. The weapon settles in his hand, its tip pointing directly at the woman running down the path. Ashán tries to open his fingers and hurl the scythe away, but his hand is locked around the hilt like a vice.

She’s moving too fast, her hands protectively cradling her swollen belly as she sprints down the slick rock, straight toward his blade.

“Eden—NO!”

CHAPTER 77

there is nothing to forgive

—ASHÁN & SAGE

The scythe hangs in our fist, but it does not move. It tries, the craving clawing through our bones, urging the blade forward.