Flower lifia's Arc

Chapter 5 of 6

Lifia pulled her sibling off the painted moon and ran. The moss gave way to grass, then to bare dirt. Behind them, the fairy swarm held the edge of the circle in a thin bright line. Ahead, the ground sloped down toward the sound of water. Her sibling stumbled on their new feet. Their seventh ring wobbled. Lifia felt every wobble in her own body. "We are two lights now," her sibling said. Their voice was small and clear. "The hunter tastes us both." "I know." Lifia scanned the slope. Open field. No cover. The blight would roll over them before they crossed it. She could feel the cold pressure at her back, closer with each breath. "We need walls. Stone or water. Something that breaks a signal." A stream cut across the bottom of the slope. It bent in slow curves, clear over pale pebbles. Water broke light. Water might be enough for a minute, not more. Lifia dragged her sibling toward it. They stepped in. The cold ran through Lifia's rings and scattered her edges. Her sibling's light bent and softened in the current. Better. Not safe. On the far bank stood an arch. Two stone columns, vines twisted around them, a carved crown at the top. Lifia had passed such arches before and known better than to enter. Spirit portals asked a price. But the blight was near now — she could feel the seventh ring pull tight, warning her. A woman stood under the arch. Blonde curls, white dress, wings folded loose behind her. She held out both hands, palms up, the way someone offers bread to a stranger. "Come through, little ones," the woman said. Her voice was soft and even, like a hymn hummed under breath. "The house behind me is warded. The blight cannot cross my step." Lifia hesitated in the water. "What is the price?" "A prayer said back to me when you are able." Mother Angel smiled. "That is all. I was sent for this." A black seam opened in the air above the field behind them. The blight had found the two lights. Lifia pulled her sibling out of the stream and up the bank. They crossed under the arch together. The vines shivered. The air on the other side felt warm and thick, like a closed room in winter. Mother Angel stepped between them and the arch. She lifted one hand. The opening dimmed to a soft gold. Beyond it, Lifia saw the black seam try the ward and slide off. A pale house rose behind them, stained glass glowing in every window, wings carved above the roof. Mother Angel guided them toward the door. "Rest," she said. "You are inside now." Lifia's sibling sank down on the step. Their rings settled. For the first time since the stone cracked, Lifia felt her seventh ring loosen. They were sheltered. The prayer would come due later.