A Bond Broken

“Please, keep away.” Asviel stumbles, her heel rolling under her, and a sob bubbles out of her in salt-stained cheeks and trembling words. “I cannot bear the thought of harming you.”

Eros opens their mouth to speak, but it’s too late. She flees from them, catching only a glimpse of the raw emotion clouding their face. She flees through a doorway and into the garden. Past the gate and city. Down steps and alleys and away from people and busy streets until she reaches the outer limits and the forest.

There, she collapses. Only then does she break, and only then does miniature rain flow from her jaw to the ground and into the sparkling stream.

A sharp cry echoes in her head; a shattering of soft energy and a sting behind her ear. Eros is gone. Their rune has stilled and grown cold. Their presence leaves behind an emptiness she wishes she had never created. If only she had learned from her past. Asviel falls onto her side, presses her cheek into the cool grass and dirt, and allows her mind its quiet relief. Perhaps she will wake from this nightmare that she has created for herself.