Primrose Egghart's Arc

Chapter 7 of 7

Primrose picks up the crystal egg and holds it to the light. It doesn't pull anymore. Doesn't glow. The other eggs in her basket sit quiet, just like they always have. Only this one ever moved, and now it's stopped. She looks at the three paths stretching out ahead, then back at the arch behind her. The egg warms in her hand. Not hot, just warm like something breathing. She sets it down on the path and kneels beside it, watching. A thin crack appears down the center, so fine she almost misses it. Then another crack spreads from the first, branching out like tree roots. Light spills through the cracks, bright enough to make her squint. The egg splits open with a soft sound, like glass breaking underwater. The pieces fall away and scatter on the ground, glowing where they land. Something small unfolds from the shards. Lavender skin catches the light. Wings unfold, delicate and see-through. White hair spills down past tiny shoulders. The creature blinks up at Primrose with purple eyes, then takes one wobbly step forward before sitting down hard. It looks at her, tilts its head, and makes a sound like wind through flower petals. Where the egg broke open, the ground glows blue, cracks spreading through the soil in a perfect circle. Pink moss springs up around the edges, fresh and soft. Primrose holds very still, just like she planned to do if the egg found her first. The creature stands again, steadier this time, and reaches one small hand toward her basket. Not taking. Just touching the edge, curious. Primrose understands then what the egg wanted all along. Not to be caught or kept or carried home. It wanted to become something new, and it needed her to bring it to the right place to do it. She lifts her basket and tips it gently, spilling her other eggs onto the moss. The creature picks one up, turns it over, sets it down. Then it looks at Primrose and points down the middle path. She knows what that means. The hunt isn't over. It's just beginning again, and this time she won't be hunting alone.