Defeat settled in my chest, low and heavy. My arms were too tired to hold me up anymore. Instead, I curled into him, pressing my face against his shoulder.
Faelan was utterly still—until I caught the faint stir of his breath, a slow exhale that felt like release.
Or maybe that was just the breeze passing through the hunting blind.
10
Sam
I woke to the smell of flowers.
Not a mere suggestion, like catching a breeze from a garden down the block—but thick, heavy, everywhere. The scent was in my hair, in my lungs, pressing against my skin like the whole world had shifted while I slept.
I sat up, blinking hard, and froze.
The inside of the hunting blind was unrecognizable.
What had once been rotting wood and packed dirt was now bursting with life. Vines completely covered the walls, curling out between the slats, and their bright green leaves stretched toward the sun. Tiny, pale blossoms clung to the beams, some spilling onto the floor, their petals scattering in soft piles. Fruits hung in clusters—plums, figs, berries I didn’t recognize, all ripening in real time, swelling like the earth itself had decided harvest season was upon us at the cusp of spring.
And Faelan…
He wasn’t just part of it. He was the center of it.
He lay where we had left him, but his skin had deepened into something richer, greener, his hair now mostly blooming ivy, his beard tangled with flowers. He should have looked sick, fading. But he didn’t. He looked transformed.
Callie rubbed sleep from her eyes. “Welcome to the equinox.”
Beside her, Bethany sat up and looked around in wonder. “Is how things used to be—before human beings came along and screwed it all up?”
Callie scowled. “Given the state of my neglected backyard…I highly doubt it.”
Bethany nodded slowly, still staring at the ridiculous, lush greenery. “It’s like the forest folded over this place and swallowed it whole.”
Callie’s gaze landed on Faelan, her lips pressing into a thin line. “Is this it? Is this…what was supposed to happen?”
No one answered.
Because none of us knew.
Callie stood up and offered Bethany a hand. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s give them a minute.”
Oh shit.
She was giving me time to say goodbye.
I eased up beside Faelan as best I could without crushing the flowers and vines that now curled from his body, since I wasn’t sure where he ended anymore and the plants began. His breathing was steady, too steady, like he was already slipping beyond reach.
I exhaled and rubbed my hands over my face. “I don’t know if you can hear me,” I whispered, “but I’ve got something to tell you anyway.”
He didn’t stir.
“I came here to make Callie see reason. I was supposed to march into this place, wave my arms around, call her an idiot, and haul her back home.” I gave a short laugh, shaking my head. “Just goes to show how much I know.”
Nothing. No flicker of awareness.
I swallowed. “I was wrong about a lot of things. Not just about her. About myself.”
I traced my fingers over a fallen flower petal. It felt fragile, impossibly so—like it didn’t belong here, not with him.
