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Later, when Felix left without so much as a goodbye, Sage went for a run, something she couldn't seem to stop doing.
The forest was wide and expansive, the sun setting and creating an orange flame through the trees. She ran until it felt like she might grow tired, and then she ran some more. She thought she could outrun what Felix had told her, but the looming thoughts were pounding away at her head even when she returned to the Cullen's house.
Emmett and Jasper were outside burning the couch, and Reneesme was roasting marshmallows over it. When Sage asked why they didn't just get rid of it like normal people, Emmett smirked, draped an arm over her shoulder and said, "Where's the fun in being normal, Sagey pie?"
"Do not call me that," she snapped, but it was weak. Emmett's chuckle was booming, and she left him with the laughter echoing in her ears.
Inside, Carlisle and Edward were talking in low voices. Sage got the gist of the conversation, of the words Felix said being repeated back at her, and went to her room.
Kill Aro, she thought as she sat on her bed. Or be killed.
Two options.
One outcome.
Sage bit her lip, head in her hands. She realized that if she could cry, she would. There was a knot in her throat that ached angrily.
She still thought Felix to be lying. The chances of her being in a prophecy were slim. She was not someone the gods favored when she was alive--why favor her in death?
She lifted her head. Her hand lit with a flame. It tickled her hand, illuminating her face in the darkness of the night. Outside, she watched the moon, and mourned for Caius. Just for a moment. Though they were not close, the passing of him had stung her deeply. She had spent centuries with him, endured his anger, and him her disregard.
Because Sage was not able to grieve for him earlier, she did so now, letting the fire dance on her hand and the moonlight shine on her face. She thought about Caius until the moon disappeared and the sun rose into the sky, shining behind the trees and shimmering on her face.
It was Seth who came to retrieve her. He pressed a soothing hand into her shoulder, saying a quiet greeting.
Sage looked over her shoulder, blinking slowly. When she saw that it was Seth, his hair pulled into a bun on top of his head--Sage hadn't realized it had gotten so long already--she smiled. "Hello, Seth."
"Hi, Sage," he whispered, glancing at her hand.
Sage extinguished it immediately. "Apologies. I suppose I wanted to see how long I could keep it alive." She didn't want to tell him she was mourning; though he'd been the only understanding one of her life before, it was best to let it die like the flame in her hand.
