Nyxlyn Nightbloom's Arc

Chapter 1 of 4

Nyxlyn curled her legs beneath her on the couch inside the golden cottage. Outside, honeysuckle tapped the window. Inside, the radio hummed a slow tune from its little table. She had come here to say one true thing. Two winters of silence pressed against her ribs. Solara sat across from her at the sun-carved dining table, stirring tea she had not yet sipped. The orange cat wove between their ankles, purring like he knew. Nyxlyn watched her best friend's wings catch the lamplight and felt the words rise. Then Solara set down her spoon. She looked up, eyes steady in a way Nyxlyn had not braced for. "Nyx," Solara said softly. "Why don't you ever talk about being in love?" The radio kept playing. The cat stopped moving. Nyxlyn opened her mouth, and every careful speech she had practiced fell away. Solara was waiting. Really waiting. No joke, no deflection, no warm metaphor to soften the question. Nyxlyn set her hands flat on her knees. "Because," she said, "the person I love is sitting across from me." The words landed in the quiet room. Solara did not move. And Nyxlyn realized, too late, that she could not take them back.