Eris walked through the city, straight down the center of the street. The streets were empty. There was no one. No one except her. Everything was cast in a purplish hue by the twilight sky. A blood-red moon rose in front of her.

There was no one. No one, she told herself, except her… and the beast behind her.

It roared. A blood-curdling, deep, ear-shattering roar.

Eris turned around and looked at it. She was rooted in place. She couldn’t run. She couldn’t hide. She couldn’t scream. She could only stare at the monstrosity before her.

It was shaped like a gargantuan lion. Its entire body was a deep blue purple, self-illuminating, towering over the nearby buildings. So bright the details couldn’t be made out. It was the color of Mana. It was Mana. Mana incarnate. Its brilliant mane undulated like tentacles in an underwater current.

Eris couldn’t see its eyes, but she knew they stared directly at her. Into her. Piercing her right through.

The beast leapt at her.

It’s claw closed around her like lightning. She felt herself lifted to its face. She stared into its eyes, though she could not see them.

The beast ate her.

She was the beast.

She roared at the moon.

She woke up gasping, sitting up frantically in her bed.

It wasn’t real. She was okay. It wasn’t real.

She panted, feeling sweat dripping down her forehead. She checked her phone. 3:30. They’d only gotten home from unblocking that Ley Line—from being attacked—an hour ago.

She slumped forward and sighed. This was the first time she’d had the nightmare since she’d moved in with Valie. She’d thought maybe just living with her sister would keep them away. But apparently she wasn’t so lucky.

She sighed again. She did know an effective way to deal with them.

It was definitely going to make the whole falling-in-love-with-Valie situation worse, though.

Valerie sat in her bed, wearing a long t-shirt and panties. She took her estradiol pill, placing it under her tongue to dissolve. She plugged her phone in. Then she got under her covers and tried to get to sleep.

Sleep didn’t come. The attack had left her shaken. Her heart pounded. Thoughts spiraled in her head. What if she hadn’t been good enough to protect Eris? What if she weren’t good enough next time? Tackling her opponent midair had been so stupid. Why did she do that? Why was that person even there, anyway?

Selfishly, she wished Eris were there to comfort her.

She tossed and turned, but her mind assaulted her with worries. She sighed in frustration. She tried to meditate the thoughts away. Nothing seemed to help.

A knock came at her door.

“Come in?” Valerie mumbled. She sat up against the head of the bed.

Eris opened the door. She stood there in a shirt and small gym shorts. Her hands were clutched to her chest.

“Hey, Valie… Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“You know how I used to… sleep with you, whenever I had nightmares?”

“Yeah. Do you still get those?” Valerie frowned in concern.

“Just had one.”

“Do you… wanna..?” Valerie patted the bed next to her.

“You sure?”

“Of course,” Valerie assured her. “Come on.”

Eris smiled happily and climbed into bed, getting under the covers. Then she sighed.

“I… had nightmares every single night after you left for university.”

“Shit, really? Aww, sis…” Valerie’s heart hurt to hear that.

“Yeah. They stopped when I moved in here. With you. But I guess they’re back.”

“Same nightmare?” As Valerie understood, it was always the same one. Eris nodded in response.

Valerie squeezed Eris’s shoulder. “I’m sorry to hear it. But if you ever need to sleep in here with me…” The butterflies returned. “You can.”

“Thanks.” Eris rolled away, her back faced towards Valerie. “Cuddle me?”

“Yeah,” Valerie said softly. She wrapped her arm over Eris, spooning her. Eris scooted back, snuggling her back against Valerie’s chest, her tail wrapping back around Valerie’s waist.

Valerie gently kissed the back of her head. As she did, Eris wrapped both legs around Valerie’s top thigh. Valerie blushed at the skin contact.

“Hey, Valie?”

“Yeah?”

Eris paused, bringing her hand up and placing it on Valerie’s, which was sitting on her belly. Then she interlaced their fingers. “I… love you.” Valerie’s heart melted.

“I love you too. So much,” Valerie whispered.

As she did, a realization both terrifying and beautiful broke through her denial. She didn’t just love Eris as a sister. She was also in love with her. Romantically. A wave of panic shot through her body.

This was so fucked up. She wanted to run. To hide. But the thing in the world that had always held the most comfort for her was right here. In her arms. She squeezed her sister closer. Was she taking advantage of Eris? How was she supposed to explain this to her? How could she be so stupid as to fall in love with her sister? With the most important person in the world to her?

“Thank you. For being here for me,” Eris mumbled sleepily. That sentence cut through Valerie’s panic. Even if things were complicated, she wanted to be there for her sister.

“You’re welcome,” she said. Then she sighed. In spite of how messed up it was, cuddling Eris just felt so right. So weirdly comforting. So… exciting?

Valerie suddenly became aware of Mana moving within her. Stroking in little circles around her heart. She and Eris had started to Resonate again. Just like that time two weeks ago, after unblocking her first Ley Line had gone awry. She hadn’t even noticed.

Valerie decided to try not to worry about the messy parts until later. Instead, she returned Eris’s tender gesture, feeling through Eris’s Aether Vessels and flowing Mana around her sister’s heart. As she did, she nuzzled her face into the back of Eris’s head, smelling the sweet, calming scent of her hair. The smell brought her memories comfort and happiness. It soothed the turmoil within Valerie’s mind until, finally, holding her sister tight and close, she was lulled to sleep.