Briar looked torn before sighing for a moment and going over to Eden, lying down next to her. He reached for her, but she shook her head. "I'm keeping watch. It's fine. Go to sleep."
He sighed before taking her hand. "Okay. Wake me up in a couple hours, alright?" "Alright," she replied quietly, brushing his hair out of his face. "Sleep well." The silence that followed suggested that he had dozed off quickly.
When Sam woke up, the sun was just coming over the horizon. Eden and Briar were curled up under the roof, Briar's arms wrapped protectively around her. Eden's head rested on his chest, her lips brushing his sternum. Both were fast asleep. They were covered by Eden's cloak, and Sam would be able to see the jagged remains of her wings, grey and lifeless.
Sam sat up and watched the sun. He looked to Eden, his hands shaking. He stood after a moment, silently approaching before kneeling beside her. His hands hovered over her back, and he squeezed his eyes shut. Deep red magic flowed from his fingertips as he began to work on her wings.
Eden stirred but did not wake. She mumbled something under her breath, but showed no sign of disturbance.
He was silent, his tiredly watching as the action drained energy from him, wiping a trickle of blood that came from his nose as he worked.
Eden murmured sleepily before turning in her sleep, facing him. Her face was kinder than he would have seen in a long time. If he took the time to study her, he would notice how her eyelids twitched as she slept, her pupils tracking whatever she was looking at in her dreams. A lock of blonde hair fell in front of her face, and she brushed it away distractedly, her lips slightly parted.
The wings became fully formed and rested lightly on the ground. As he watched, a golden pinprick would glow from the center of the wings, small at first, but eventually swirling outwards, filling the veins of the wings with light.
He brought his hand to his nose, stopping any blood from falling. He sat back, feeling sick, before hurrying to his spot quietly.
Eden stirred eventually before sitting up suddenly, her hand to her head. She peered to the sun, her brow furrowed. "What... what happened?" she asked, turning to look at Sam. Her eyes were startling, the brown replaced by a warm gold.
She squinted at him, tilting her head. "Why were you..." She turned quickly to look at Briar and she froze, seeing her wings. "Sam... what did you do?"
