Chapter 35 Monroe
MONROE
Iprepare to summon my floracycle, but swirls of movement glint between clouds in the darkness, stunning me in place.
Storms.
With neon-blue hair and matching eyes, their body glows next to their fellow harbingers.
They swarm in a blur of orange, red, and pink, rays of their heat radiating from them, rippling like waves.
A pink rose’s petals shrivel, withdrawing into the bush beside me, its green thorns yellowing.
According to our classes, their work depends on the region.
In a city like DC, they’re tasked with making it sweltering, driving folks to escape for weekends at the beach or to other amusements to cool off.
For the Storms near the water, some assist spring’s work—with certain flora fully blossoming in the summer months.
Others prefer tearing down our creations and replacing them with their own.
And while spring Blooms brought rain, summer Storms brought wild weather, living up to their name.
Their temperaments, from what we’d been told in class, were bold, destructive, and haughty.
Now I was in summer’s territory.
Thankfully, they hadn’t spotted me yet. I needed to keep it that way.
If the Storms see a spring harbinger, they’ll notify Fate, and I’ve already broken enough rules by returning to the mortal world.
The last thing I want is get the Blooms in trouble and worsen whatever this feud is simmering between them.
My floracycle would save time but also put a target on my back.
I wiggle my nose, shrinking down into my earthside form. Each pop of bone sears, unusually painful for the shift. I could go from harbinger to bunny almost seamlessly after a season in the mortal world, but my skin cracks and every part of me is inflamed. It hurts even in this form.
Just blend in and get to the metro.
Scampering across the grass, I halt at the intersection and stare at the red pedestrian signal, waiting for it to turn white and countdown so I can cross.
My entire body throbs from the shift, and my eyes flutter, the world blurring.
I’m tired. So tired and thirsty. If I can just find some water and a spot to rest…
Stay with it. This is your chance to see Charlotte’s parents.
Blinking the world back into focus, I bend my hind legs and prepare to spring across the road.
HONK!
I jump backward, knocking into someone and fumbling over my feet.
My chest pinches, pain radiating upward, all the way through my skull.
Cars speed within the intersection, their bright lights whipping past. Wobbling over the lip, I stumble, tumbling into the road.
Across the way, a bright-orange bus screeches to a halt at the corner.
I stare at it, my body petrified, turning to stone.
A blur of orange.
The smack of impact.
Blinding pain.
Pitch black.
My body quivers, the shift becoming harder and harder to hold on to.
I need to get out of here. Shooting back from the ledge, I sprint away from the road.
Each thud of my paws against the ground is heavier than the last, but I keep moving.
I don’t know how long I wander. The world distorted around me, and eventually the lights disappear, aside from a few neon ones in the distance.
You’re safe, they aren’t close.
Trees crowd overhead. Flickering neon swirls closer. Thunder rolls across the sky and the dizzying darkness swallows me whole…
…
…
… I manage to peel open my eyes. The ground is no longer so close, and I’m completely naked in my harbinger form. I can’t stop shaking. Rain patters against my skin, tiny droplets stinging where they slip through the cracks.
I wrap my arms around myself, shivering yet thankful for the cool drops on this sweltering summer night.
That unquenchable thirst returns. I stick out my tongue, catching raindrops and swallowing them down, licking a few off my arms. I hold my hands out toward the sky.
The water fills the cracks along my skin, and for a moment, I pretend it’ll fix everything, even as spots pepper my vision.
There’s no buzz beneath my fingers. I can’t shift, can’t run, can’t summon clothes. I’m useless once again. A deep, quivering numb travels through my limbs.
This is it, isn’t it? Seasonal sickness. Is this what it was like for Briar, trapped in his bunny form, this constant shivering and lethargy?
I curl up into a ball, the wet grass scraping my skin. Lightning cracks and shakes the ground. Dread pools in my gut.
How did I ever think I could trick Fate?
Clearly, I’m an idiot.
And what for? So I can pass out in a random patch of grass, defenseless against the Storms brewing overhead?
A long shadow stretches across my balled form.
I’m not alone.
There’s a rustling as heavy fabric is draped over my shoulders. The world spins, then flips, and my eyes flutter. I fight closing them until I can’t any longer…
The tips of my fingers brush pebbled leather as I wake. Soft light shines over my bare skin, emitting a tingly warmth where the light hits my chest. I follow the source: a large hand with a blooming rose sprawled across its back.
“What are you doing here?” My voice grates up my throat. I’m still mostly naked, though I now have a cropped tank and a pair of briefs giving me some coverage.
“I could ask you the same thing,” Briar says, holding out his hand where a flask appears. His tone doesn’t carry its usual smoothness, as if it’s been roughed up by gravel. He unscrews the top and holds it to my lips. “Water. You need it.”
He pours a tiny bit, waiting for me to swallow it down, giving me more sips until the rawness in my throat settles a bit. It’s still raining, but it doesn’t touch my skin. I lift my gaze skyward, noting the awning overhead.
He raises the flask toward my lips but I hold up a hand, stopping him. “I needed to see them for myself.”
“What difference will that make if you are weak and sick?” He nudges my lip with the flask, its rose gold glinting in the moonlight. “What good do you think that does?”
I take a long sip of water before responding. “It was better than doing the alternative: nothing at all.”
The flask disappears back into his palm, and I chew at my bottom lip, a chunk of it coming off where deep grooves and valleys pock the once-smooth skin.
Gross. My entire body is cracked and dry, shivering against the silken lining of Briar’s leather jacket.
You’d think it was winter, not in the mid-90s and humid.
“This is my chance. So either help me or get out of my way.”
Briar chuckles and mutters something to himself, tucking wayward strands of my mint hair behind my ear. His hand lingers over the peony there.
He swallows thickly, not taking his eyes off of the Ever Briar.
“I’ll help you.” His hand drifts over my collarbones, skipping the skin hidden by his jacket. Heat prickles along my flesh. “But only if you promise to come back to Florezca after. You’re sick and no one here will know how to help you properly.”
I cast him a glare. “I’ll consider it.”
“Considering isn’t going to cut it.” He focuses his attention on warming me, though his hand shakes and every so often his eyes flick in my direction.
At first, I hated that Fate had tethered me to him.
But I’ve slowly come to terms with his role in my death, and now he’s here, casting me in his warmth, tending to me after everything, even while it puts him at risk.
Part of me wants to tell him about the bond, but what’s the use?
The truth will only hurt him more if I stay.
“How long do we have?”
He purses his lips. “That depends... The timeframe to get back through the veil is one thing, but having enough magic to do it is another.”
“Well, I need to at least see Beth and Richard.”
I don’t know how I’ll feel after my visit—I’m not sure what I’ll find. But I am certain time is running faster than my ability to chase. At least on my own.
“We better get going, then.” Briar secures his arms around me and helps me stand. Politely averting his gaze, he helps feed my shivering arms into the thick sleeves of his jacket that’s been draped over me. Its hem rests against the tops of my thighs.
“You could have dressed me in more than this.”
“You could have dressed yourself,” he tuts.
I stare at the grass. “My magic, it’s tapped out.”
“That will happen at the end of a long season.” He sighs but doesn’t chide me further. “Until we get back, we only work with what is necessary.”
I want to ask him why he’s so depleted, but if it’s related to the bond, I don’t think I have the energy to withhold the truth from him. So I stay silent.
“You’re in no condition to drive.” His black floracycle appears, and I lean against him for support as we walk closer. He lifts me onto the bike, steadying me before swinging his leg over the side. “Just tell me where to go and hold on tight.”