Sage

Sage

Her consciousness emerged as the veil of sleep lifted gradually. Her parched tongue moved swiftly over her cracked lips, desperately seeking remnants of the Star Rose leaves.

Occasionally, upon waking, she would lick remnants and return to nothingness.

Unfortunately, her lips were clean, and despite her effort not to, she felt her body and mind awaken.

With one eye cracked open, Sage gazed into the dimly lit infirmary. She was blessedly alone, but she could still feel Kade close by. The Demon Prince had been keeping her company and sleeping in a cot beside her ever since they arrived. However, he had been maintaining a distance following the incident involving Alec.

Whenever she thought of it, she cringed. The way Alec looked when she lashed out. How Kade had held her back, but his touch only fueled her power and made matters worse.

She’d almost blown a hole through the opposite wall, aiming for the hapless Demon as he scrambled to escape.

She knew he hadn’t meant to upset her. She even knew how irrational her reaction was.

It didn’t matter. She hadn’t been able to stop it. Something inside her cracked and hissed. Some darkness overtook her when she saw him crush the spider.

That same darkness coiled deep inside her like a snake, slowly wrapping itself around every inch of her tattered soul. Normally she would have felt sickened by it and tried to fight it off, but there was a familiarity to it that made her pause. She couldn’t place it, or put words to how it felt, but something about the coiling creature brushing against her soul felt kindred, and she had the irresistible urge to protect it.

Kade must have felt it, too.

He’d been watching her with an alert wariness, his red eyes piercing into her when she woke from her Star Rose-induced sleep as if waiting for something.

She didn’t have the courage to ask him about it. She barely had the will to stay awake longer than an hour before the coiling darkness became too much and she chewed another handful of the petals. In sleep, she could not think or feel, and it was a welcome distraction.

Each day she told herself she would get out of bed and begin plotting her next move. But each time she woke up and began to think about her torn soul and Vinciei, it all became too heavy and too much.

She would tell herself tomorrow, tomorrow will be the day, that she just needed a little more rest before then.

She wasn’t sure how many days had gone on like this, but by the looks Minx and Naru gave her when they happened to visit, she knew it was beginning to be too many. But her body felt like lead when she tried to leave the infirmary. Her legs would not take her outside to see the sunken city Minx had been exploring.

She glanced at the table beside her cot, searching for the petals, but there were none to be found. Sage sat up, her head swimming from lack of water and food, still foggy with sleep, as she searched the room for her petals. She could have sworn there had been a few left on the table before she last fell asleep.

A twinge in her core alerted her to Kade before he emerged from the shadowy tunnel. His red eyes pinned her as he slowly approached her cot, his arms held behind his back. Shame twisted in her guts, forcing her to avert her eyes, instead focusing on a tiny hole in her blanket.

Kade had been by her side since arriving, but they had barely spoken more than a few words to each other, and it was usually him asking her to eat something or try to take a walk. He was unusually tender and soft with her, never arguing when she declined food or turned around to go back to sleep.

She felt guilty, especially since she knew why the sudden change in his behavior. Part of it was Kami, but there was also his confession right before Kami. They had feelings for each other, and even though neither one understood those feelings, they had admitted them. But then Kami and Vinciei happened, and neither had spoken about it since.

It was awkward, as Sage knew she should speak to him about it, but like with everything else, the idea of doing so made her feel heavy and tired.

“Blackwood,” Kade addressed her, stopping just at the foot of her cot. The scent of pine hit her, pulling memories of sleeping under the stars in the forest with him from the recesses of her mind. Back when all she had to worry about was fixing her broken soul. What she would give now to go back to then.

“You need to eat something,” Kade said when she didn’t answer.

Sage glanced to the table side and sighed. Her petals were gone, and she doubted he would get Minx to make more unless she ate something.

“Are you looking for these?” Kade asked, holding up three petals. Sage frowned, puzzling out why he had them. The Demon watched her, his expression neutral.

“Give them back,” she croaked, her voice rough and dry from sleep and disuse.

He shook his head slowly. “I’ve let this go on long enough, Blackwood. You need to get up and eat something.”

“You need to butt out,” she snapped back.

“I am not sure what my butt has to-”

“Oh, for the love of the Goddess, just leave it alone and mind your business,” Sage seethed. His expression changed, and she felt the guilt clutch her heart, its icy claws squeezing until she couldn’t breathe.

“You are my business.” He growled. “I will not see you waste away in this decrepit cot. You are a Blackwood, Sage. You can conquer this.” Whatever smart remark she had lined up died in her throat.

“What if I can’t?” She asked quietly. “I’m just so, so tired, Kade. I’ve been fighting since I came here, and look where it’s gotten me.” Hot tears threatened to fall as she held back a sob. It was all too much. Her mother and family trying to kill her, Kade ripping out her soul, saving Minx, dealing with this world - and now a crazy Maiden who fancied herself a Goddess.

Kade scoffed. “So you’re going to let them win? Just lie down and die?”

Sage shook her head, “You don’t get it, there’s this weight on me and I can’t seem to shake it.”

His brows knotted and at the same time, Rhea stormed into the room, her pirate’s hat bobbing as she rushed to the free cots on the other side. She ignored them as she began to push the cots around, freeing some space.

Sage quirked a brow, then heard the commotion coming through the tunnel. Suddenly, the room was filled with voices as Minx and Wraza ushered in a group of ragged-looking people.

Minx held a small girl, her face buried deep in Minx’s chocolate locks. Wraza was holding up a one-legged man as she barked orders down the tunnel.

“Quickly, get the sick to the beds. Get those blankets and bed rolls!”

Dozens of people, injured and weak, stumbled into the room. Gabriela emerged, leading a young woman who had a bloody bandage covering her eyes.

Kade moved like lightning, helping the two men over to the free cots as Minx flicked her wrist to the free space Rhea had made. Thick vines grew from the ceiling, twisting together to form a few hanging beds blanketed with soft moss.

“What happened?” Sage asked, throwing her blanket off as Minx ushered a few kids to the open cots by Sage.

“The Hands,” Minx said, her tone clipped.

The little girl in her arms, a witchling by the hum of magic Sage could detect, chanced a glance up. She had dark blue eyes, ringed by shadows, and the moment she lifted her chin, Sage could see the gaping hole where her ear had been. Bile filled her throat as she stood, swallowing back the nausea.

“Put her here,” Sage said, seeing the other beds were full. Minx raised a brow, stepping towards her. The witchling shrank away from Sage, burrowing deeper into Minx’s chest.

Sage stepped away, leaving Minx to tuck the little girl into her bed. She found Kade with Naru, helping a few men into the hanging beds.

“Kade, the petals.” She held out her hand. He gave her a reproachful look, but before he could protest, she placed her free hand over his chest, where she could feel his heart racing. “It’s not for me.”

She glanced back to the kids huddled in their beds, their expressions blank, but their eyes were still bright and alert.

“They deserve to sleep without nightmares.” She said.

He let out a breath, then placed the remaining petals in her open palm.

“Thank you,” she said softly, pressing her forehead into his chest. “I will be right back.”

She didn’t wait for a reply as she hurried back to the kids, starting with the witchling. She bent down, holding the petal to the child’s lips.

“Here, this will help you sleep. No dreams, I promise.” She said, but the witchling recoiled from her. She pulled the blanket over her face, hiding from Sage.

“Don’t take it to heart. They’ve been through a lot,” Minx said quietly. “Let me try.” Sage handed her the petals and watched as Minx crouched by the cot, gently placing a hand on the child’s shoulder. She bent closer, whispering something through the blanket. A moment passed, and then a tiny pale hand appeared, palm open.

Minx placed a petal on it and watched as the hand disappeared beneath the blanket. They could hear a faint chewing sound, which made Minx smile. She did the same with the others, and soon the kids were all fast asleep.

Rhea and Wraza were working with the adults, cleaning and mending what wounds they could before offering them the petals. Minx grew a few more Star Rose plants when they ran out of them. Naru and Alec were sent to find clean clothes, while Gabriela and Elinar left to get some hot food.

Sage helped Minx mix a few ointments and elixirs for pain. As time went on, the room became filled with the sounds of sleep and the occasional snore.

“Tell me,” Sage said finally when she felt everyone was fast asleep.

“They were being held prisoner by the Hands, who were going to ship them off to Leox.” Minx said quietly, but Sage could still hear the edge in her tone.

“To the Cleansing?” Sage asked, and Minx gave her a curt nod. Sage scoffed, “I never thought I’d wish I’d blown a bigger hole in that place, but I do now.”

“I never thought I’d agree with you, but I do,” Minx said, surprising her. Minx continued crushing some herbs in her mortar, her brows furrowed. Sage worked beside her in silence. She knew when Minx had something on her mind she was trying to puzzle out, and she knew when to give her time.

After a few moments of silence, Minx finally said, “Something needs to be done.” Sage poured some oil into her mixture, carefully adding the crushed herbs according to Gabriela’s recipe, and waiting for Minx to continue.

“The Hands, they can’t keep doing this.” She whispered.

Sage dipped her chin. “No, but what can we do about it?”

“We’re Maidens, Sage.”

“That doesn’t mean we can do whatever we want,” Sage said quickly. “Look at what’s happened since I came here. Leox, Kami - that’s just the beginning if we do what I think you want us to do.”

Minx shook her head. “We can’t just sit by and do nothing.”

Sage’s hands froze, hearing the unspoken message in her words. “I know. I’m trying.”

Minx grasped her hand, squeezing it. “I didn’t mean it like that, Sage. You’ve been through a lot, and I think-” she glanced down as if sizing her up, “I think there is more going on than you know. Healing is important, but so is saving the people who need it.”

Sage glanced back towards the kids, snug in their blankets, their faces slack with sleep.

“I think we should speak with the others,” Minx said.

Sage felt the weight of what was about to happen rest on her shoulders, the heaviness returning to her chest. She took a deep breath, knowing Minx was right.

“Yeah, let’s go make a plan.”