Page 272 of May: Bloom & Bane

“Mm.”

“Was that—” Her fingers curl around one of my ribs. “A recurring theme?”

Sage leans into her ear. “Everything came in pairs, ílyara.”

“As in… both of you?” she squeaks.

Look at her cute little face, Sage chuckles.

“I dared you to show me first! I quoted you!” she shrieks.

“You did.” I catch her chin, tilting her flushed face to ours. “It was adorable.”

“Such a brave girl,” Sage murmurs.

“And now—” I lower my mouth to hers, wings folding us into a slow, weightless drift, “we believe you owe us a demonstration. Unless…” My thumb drags across her bottom lip. “... you’d like to revise your terms.”

“But how?”

“We share one body, Eden,” I whisper, my other hand tilting her hips just enough to emphasize the reality of what she’s resting against. “It would hardly be fair if only one of us got to celebrate our return.”

“I wept,” she blurts out. “You know I was just joking before.”

A roar of laughter escapes us. “Too late, Saevúra.”

She buries her face into my neck. “I paced too. I barely ate. It was terrible.”

“Barely ate?” Sage tuts. “We’ve talked about this.”

“Yes, we have. I think her punishment should last even… longer, now.”

Eden’s head snaps up. “Punishment? We never said anything about punishment?”

“Count one,” Sage begins. “Entertaining herself.”

“Egregious,” I agree solemnly.

“Count two: lying about it.”

“Shameful.”

“You can’t just⁠—”

“Overruled.”

Eden’s mouth drops open. “You’re not even a⁠—”

“Count three.” Sage drags my skelva over the swell of her belly. “Skipping meals and starving our poor little nestling.”

A tiny heel thumps against my palm, right on cue.

“The victim has spoken,” I say gravely.

“She did not—” Eden’s voice cracks. “This is a stretch, and you know it.”

We squint at her, and her shoulders sag.

“Fine,” she sighs. “That one’s fair.”