Raven and Sage Nightshade's Arc

Chapter 3 of 3

The full moon was two nights away. Raven knew Petra would not wait. The botanist had learned Sage would soon be named heir, placed beyond her reach. So Petra pressed harder now, pulling Sage to the greenhouse every night. Raven decided she could no longer chase her sister in the dark. She would go to the greenhouse herself and face the woman stealing Sage's soul. Raven found Sage inside, kneeling on the dirt floor. Petra stood over her in a white dress stained dark at the hem. She smiled, the way she always smiled, soft and kind, while she held a black sunflower to Sage's face. "Breathe it in," Petra said gently. "The love she gives you is a leash. Let it go, and you'll never hurt again." Sage's hands shook. Her black-glossed lips trembled. She looked at Raven with empty green eyes. "She says you hold me back," Sage whispered. "I hold you up," Raven said. Her voice came out loud, louder than her shy heart wanted. "You named the hound Pip. You felt sorry when he cried. That was you, Sage. Not her." Petra's smile did not move. But her fingers tightened on the stem. "Names," she said. "You keep using names." Raven stepped closer. She pressed her hand over Sage's trembling fingers. "You carried that stray pup home last winter. You wrapped him in green blankets. You cried when he died. I remember. You remember too." Sage gasped. The empty green left her eyes. Tears cut through her smoky makeup. "I bought him a bed," she said. "With red moons on it. Moonflowers." Her voice cracked. "I kept it." Petra's smile finally broke. For one second her kind face twisted. She saw she had lost the night. "The moon will not save her forever," Petra said. She backed toward the rows of dark plants. "When the rivals come for your little queen, remember who warned you." Then she slipped into the green shadows and was gone. Raven pulled Sage up from the floor. Her sister clung to her, shaking. They walked out together into the cold air. Back home, Sage went straight to her room. She dragged the old dog bed from the closet, the deep green one with red moons and black moonflowers. She set it at the foot of her bed and sat beside it, holding the fabric to her chest. "I almost gave you up," Sage said. "But you didn't," Raven said. She sat down close. "Two more nights. Then Mother names you heir. Petra can't buy you after that." Sage nodded slowly. She looked calmer than she had in weeks. But Raven heard Petra's warning in her head. The rivals will come. She had pulled Sage from one wolf's mouth. Soon a whole pack would hunt them both.