Peregrine tried to move, but he couldn’t. Once again, darkness surrounded him, pulling his body taut as though invisible chains had wrapped themselves around every limb. He strained against it, but the darkness only tightened its hold.
Bianca!!!
He tried to call her name, but even his voice seemed trapped beneath the suffocating pressure. He could see her falling through the clouds, farther and farther away from him, and he couldn’t move a single inch to reach her.
Bianca was still smiling. She loved falling because she knew Peregrine would catch her. Somehow, this game was even better than the one they used to play when they were younger.
She would climb the branches of the trees and jump, and Peregrine would catch her every time. When he was thirteen and she was seven, he always complained that her clothes weighed more than she did. Her skirts had been ridiculous even then, but they had at least cushioned her fall whenever she landed on him.
Peregrine would groan in pain and grumble that she was a menace, but he always caught her again when she jumped. Bianca was never afraid he would fail to catch her. Somehow, she had always known he wouldn’t.
She had been such a menace back then. Even now, she had no idea why Peregrine had tolerated her for so long.
Still smiling at the memory, Bianca opened her eyes.
Her smile slowly faded.
She had been falling much longer than before. When she looked up, the clouds were already far above her, and Peregrine was still somewhere within them.
Panic settled into her chest.
Something is wrong.
He wasn’t diving after her. He wasn’t moving at all. Even from this distance, she could see the strain in his body, as though he were struggling against something she couldn’t see.
Then she noticed something moving through the clouds.
A long, serpentine form slid through the mist around Peregrine. Bianca couldn’t make out its features, but she could feel the threatening aura surrounding it. Unlike before, there was no voice in her head, yet every instinct warned her that the creature was dangerous.
Her first thought was not about herself.
Peregrine is in danger.
Before she knew what she was doing, Bianca reached for him. She twisted in midair, turning so her legs pointed toward the earth while her hands stretched toward the sky.
For a moment, her fall seemed to slow. Bianca stared at Peregrine, confused by the strange sensation. It felt as though she had somehow gained control over her own descent.
Then she saw his eyes.
They started glowing.
The light spread across his face and reached the scar on his right side, making it burn like fire. A halo of flames surrounded him, so bright that Bianca had to squint.
Possession State. He had fused with his dragon familiar.
The next instant, Peregrine reached through the darkness and caught her hand.
Bianca gasped as he pulled her toward him. His arm wrapped around her waist, drawing her tightly against his body, while she instinctively clung to his shoulders. She could feel the powerful thrum of his chest beneath her cheek.
He must have seen the serpentine creature too.
Peregrine tightened his hold around her.
The darkness was far more powerful than he had expected. Its pressure crushed against him, resisting even the power of his Primordial Dragon. For one terrifying moment, he had thought Bianca would be the last thing he ever saw.
He couldn’t let that happen. His dragon had to answer, and thankfully, it did.
Fire surged through Peregrine’s body, and the darkness finally began to give way. Even then, escaping its hold was painfully difficult, as though whatever had seized him had no intention of releasing him.
Was that a Rogue? It didn’t feel like the ones he had encountered before.
Peregrine pulled Bianca even closer, shielding her against his chest as he descended. Why her? Why does that thing appear around his little Bumblebee?
Bianca could still feel his heart pounding beneath her cheek.
"Did something happen up there?" she whispered against his shoulder.
Peregrine’s voice rumbled low against her cheek. "Did you feel something too?"
Bianca stiffened.
Feel? Did he only feel it?
But I saw it.
She wondered whether she should tell him the truth. Fear twisted inside her as she remembered how easily people had already called her names. No one, not even Peregrine, knew that she could see other people’s familiars in their dormant forms.
She was already an anomaly. She had no Anima-Glyph and no familiar of her own. What if there was something else wrong with her? What if she could see what others couldn’t because there was something inside her that people should fear?
The thought made her stomach tighten.
She had been raised to keep her head bowed and never give anyone a reason to speak about her, whether their words were kind or cruel. Whenever someone called her cursed or worthless, she retreated behind her pride and pretended not to hear them.
But she couldn’t ignore what she had seen. That serpent had tried to attack Peregrine, and he needed to know.
"I saw a serpent in the clouds," she finally said, squeezing her eyes shut. "It was trying to attack you."
She leaned closer against his shoulder, unable to make herself look at him. She already felt like a freak. She couldn’t bear seeing that fear confirmed in Peregrine’s eyes too.
"A serpent?" Peregrine echoed.
Bianca nodded.
He said nothing after that.
The silence made Bianca’s chest ache.
She had been happy only moments ago. For the first time in what felt like forever, she had been laughing with Peregrine, just like she used to when they were children. She had touched the clouds. He had remembered her birthday wish. For those few precious moments, everything had felt almost like it used to.
And now...
Maybe her father had been right. Maybe happiness simply didn’t last when she was involved.
Bianca kept her face against Peregrine’s shoulder and said nothing more.
By the time she opened her eyes again, they were back in Valois House.
Peregrine carried her into her bedchamber and lowered her carefully onto the edge of the bed.
"You’re soaked."
He reached up and gently lifted a strand of wet hair that had stuck to her forehead.
Bianca looked at him. Their eyes met for barely a moment. Peregrine immediately looked away.
"You must be cold," he said, his voice quieter than before. "Get changed."
He turned and walked out of the bedchamber without looking at her again.
Bianca stared after him. Then she slowly lowered her gaze. Her fingernails dug into her palms as tears slipped down her cheeks.
What did you expect, Bianca?
She had let herself believe, just for a little while, that one beautiful day could change everything between them.
It couldn’t.
Nothing will change.