Her eyes slammed open, and Sage gasped for as much air as she could to fill her starving lungs. The world had turned sideways. No. Not the world. Sage blinked as her mind struggled to reboot. Feet. Two pair of them. They were upright. It was she who had somehow ended up sideways, splayed out on the ground. What had she missed? How long had she been lying there?
The seed!
“Did you get it?” Sage looked up, finding her answer reflected in Ava’s face.
The reproachful look took her straight back to memories of her childhood, her mother staring down at her. Miranda never needed to yell. All it took was that look, and no matter how big she was, Sage would feel no more than an inch tall. The silent weight of her mother’s disappointment was enough to elicit tears and a full confession, though in
