Help! Five Beast Alphas Want To Breed Me!!(BL)-Chapter 301: Sapphire Gardens 2

Song for the Chapter: Forbidden Fruit by Tommee Profitt, Sam Tinnesz and Brooke

Selthía;

I part the vines as I step forward, and the garden opens before me.

The beauty of it brings tears to my eyes, and I find my mind digging up memories I have given my all to try to forget.

In the golden light of the garden, I see my sister. Serenia. She’s crouched in the middle of the garden, yapping about how all of a sudden the flowers don’t trigger her allergies as violently as before.

I remember her saying something silly like maybe her body has gotten used to the allergy, but if only she knew. If only she had a clue about the sleepless nights I spent digging through old scrolls and spells in search of something that could contain the violence of these flowers.

If only she knew the magic I worked into the spell to reduce the adverse effect it had on her.

I remember her blue eyes shimmering in excitement each time a new flower bloomed.

A tear slides down my face, and her happy, skippy form vanishes, and I’m left with the reality of her absence.

How does one ever recover from the loss of a sibling? Especially one so close to you, she felt like the core of your existence. I lived to look after her. Protect her. Love her. She was not just my twin; she was my world. And now, she’s just... gone.

It’s an ache I do not know how to heal from. After so many years... It’s an ache that has more power over me than I’d like to admit.

And her boys have taken such strong likings after her. I stare at the unbelievable garden Zephan built.

The sapphire flowers glow softly in the half-light of sundown, and their petals unfold with the patience of something beautiful and proud. Like an array of treasures they know are bewitching.

The hum of magic greets me like a held note finally released... low and warm and steady.

I take a deep breath as I think of how Zephan started this as a hurting child, and maintained it as an adult embracing nostalgia.

I step onto the garden, and the flowers lean subtly toward me, sensing my magic.

I, however, do not reach for them as Serenia or Zephan might have.

I walk carefully with reverence, as walking through here feels like trespassing into a temple that was not built for me. Instead, it’s a temple that shows how much I broke the children I was meant to mould.

The gems Serenia left in my care that I didn’t maintain. She must be so disappointed in me.

The air is thick with enchantment and pain, so much so that breathing almost becomes a strain. I kneel slowly near the centre of the clearing with the hem of my dress brushing the grass.

I set down the small basket I carried here with me, and take a deep breath as I stare at it.

Inside it are tools I need for what I came here to do.

There are gardening shears, salves, a folded cloth... and a pair of gloves.

I pick up the gloves first.

They are simple things, woven with a small spell enough to dull the allergenic properties of the sapphire flowers.

I’ve never been allergic to these flowers, but to be sure that this is a success, I had to spell myself. It’s temporary and would let me feel the allergic reactions Zephan feels.

That is why I need these gloves to work on these flowers.

I slip the gloves on, and only then do I reach out to touch the flowers.

My fingers brush a sapphire stem, and the flower pulses softly under my touch.

I feel goosebumps rise along my skin, and in this moment, I feel a presence with me.

It’s not hostile...

It’s new. Warm. Kind... Familiar.

I close my eyes, and my heart skips when the scent hits me.

Her scent.

My eyes snap open, and I shoot to my feet as my eyes dart around.

"Serenia?" I call into the empty garden, and tears rush to my eyes as her scent heightens.

I can not see her, but I feel her. I can smell her.

"S-serenia... is that you?? Are you... Are you here? G-give me a sign, please... anything... Just—" I don’t get to finish talking before a gentle breeze engulfs me.

It carries my hair, my dress, and even moves the flowers.

My jaw drops, and fresh tears well in my eyes.

S-she’s here. My... my sister’s here.

"Oh, Serenia..." I whisper as I try to hold myself together.

I look about at the garden and fall to my knees.

She’s really here.

This is the first time since the boys hatched that I’m feeling her.

"I missed you..." I whimper, and I feel a pressure surrounding me. Like a hug from behind.

I break completely, and sobs rake through me as I lean into the feeling of her.

"I’m sorry," I whisper through my sobs.

The words are not performative. No one is here to hear them.

They are for my sister. The sister I failed.

They are an acknowledgement of my sins.

"I’m so sorry..." I cry further, and the pressure around me tightens a bit.

The basket beside me moves, and I smile, as I realise she’s telling me to get to work.

Still feeling her around me, I reach for the basket.

I begin to tend the garden, and her scent increases as time passes.

I trim overgrowth carefully, like Serenia once taught me— careful not to cut too much. I remove dead leaves by hand, laying them aside instead of discarding them.

I sob softly as I work, and an old Nagari melody comes to mind. One my sister used to love.

Her memories ache in me, as they always have.

But today, they do not twist into blame... Today, it is simply grief and wishes...

I move slowly, deliberately. I am not fixing anything. I am caring for it. Like she would have.

After a time, I feel it.

The prickle. A faint tightening along my skin.

Zethar’s allergy.

The magic has started working.

I stop, as I begin to feel the pain the child endures to tend to these flowers.

This garden is a mercy to some serpents and a danger to others.

I lean into my sister’s presence; I can still feel. I imagine a massive grin on her face as she watches me do this one thing I used to swear was ridiculous.

"This will not hurt them again," I whisper to my sister and the memory of Zephan... and Zethar gasping for breath.

I take out the scroll from my basket and begin to draw sigils into the ground.

They are gentle enchantments that allow the sapphire’s calming effects to remain while suppressing the volatile allergy trigger a bit.

It is painstaking work. It takes hours.

My knees ache. My fingers cramp, and sweat beads along my temples. But I do not stop.

When the final sigil settles into the earth, the garden exhales.

The hum deepens, smoother now. Safer for them.

I remove my gloves and test the air.

Nothing.

No burn. No itch.

I close my eyes, feeling proud. I did it again.

Zethar can stay here now, and it won’t be a risk to him.

I sit back on my heels, chest rising and falling.

I let the garden exist around me, and I feel Serenia’s presence again. This time moving through the garden as though examiningmy work.

I do not know if this is all in my head or not, so I’m stuck. I don’t know if my sister is truly here, or if I miss her so much that I started imagining things.

It’s what people told me when I first started sensing her. Some even whispered that the grief was making me lose my mind.

Who knows. They may be right. But each time my mind chooses to derail and do this... It brings me a semblance of peace. That even though she’s far gone, sometimes she comes back just to say hello to me.

She comes back to make us a complete family.

I open my eyes and let myself imagine two boys standing here together.

One cautious. One furious.

Both alive... Both loved.

When I finally stand, the sky has turned orange— the sign of sunset. The sapphire flowers glow brighter, catching the day like scattered stars.

I gather my things and begin to move. I get to the archway and turn to look back at the garden.

I smile at the work I have done, and I watch the breeze blow gently across the garden.

"Serenia, if you’re truly here... I’m sorry I failed you. I’m sorry I hurt our boys. It’s... It’s not the kind of aunt I promised to be. Well, now, I’m not just their aunt, aren’t I? I... I’m learning. I’ll do better. I promise. I’ll love your boys because they’re mine too. I’ll fix the damange cause. At least I’ll try my best to. I promise." I say, and I’m met with silence.

I sigh and turn around to leave. Just then...

"Thank you, sister..." Her tender voice suddenly whispers in my ear with the breeze, and I freeze.