Page 75 of Body of Echoes

A princess unable to use her magic. I shook the thought out of my system and revealed my secret because Fletcher said he trusted Mirin. My shoulders slacked as my finger came flying out of my mouth. “I can’t use my magic.”

He narrowed his eyes and cocked his head, mop of strawberry-blond hair bouncing with the motion. “What do you mean?”

“I have something called split magic. It’s unpredictable, and if I use my magic, there’s a chance it could kill me.”

His eyes widened and his heavy brows darted up with grave concern. “Oh my, I-I’m so sorry to hear that.”

I sighed. “I don’t want anyone knowing.”

Mirin flattened his hand over his heart and bowed his head, promising, “I won’t say a word.”

“Thank you.” When he looked up, I continued. “But, if you drink my blood, you will be able to wield my magic. That way you can experiment.”

His lips pressed together. “I can, but I’ll need someone else without your magic as a control. I need a glass coated in the indestructible magic and one without to practice on. If we can break the indestructible glass without your magic, then we will not need your royal blood to save those in the Cidris Facility.” He sighed and leaned a hand on the wall while crossing his ankles.

I vehemently shook my head. “I don’t trust anyone. And even you are in question.”

He pressed his lips as if he were disappointed by the statement. A frown took over his face, and perhaps, he realized it was understandable as he pushed off the wall and shifted his stance to hips-width apart. “Our best chance is another person if youcannot use your magic. Is there no one you found during your visit here who you trust?”

I ran through the names of those I’d met in my head. Talia. Students. Jarvy. Rosaanne. Decksin. Graff. Rizzy. “Two come to mind if I had to choose.”

“Who are they?”

“Talia and Rosaanne.”

Mirin’s head jerked back like he was in deep confusion. “I would have bet coins on you saying Graff.”

“Talia and Rosaanne,” I repeated firmly.

He bowed his head. “I trust them both. I know Talia better than Rosaanne. I think she would be a great addition, except she tends to dedicate all her time to her students. On the other hand, she does not have the gritty edge that Rosaanne does that we might need. If anyone were going to break into the Cidris Facility to help you, I’d put my bet on Rosaanne. And Graff.”

I clenched my jaw at the sound of his name, crossing my arms. “You trust Graff.”

He nodded. “I trust anyone the king and queen are willing to marry the princess off to.”

With a heavy huff, I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling the possibility of involving Graff clutch at mystress. Mirin was merely offering his opinion, and I took it very lightly. “Let’s start with Rosaanne.”

A twinkle of disappointment glimmered in his eye before he smiled and said, “I’ll get set up here if you want to go have a chat with her. She lives one row over and three houses to the left. The one with the dark blue door.”

I knocked on Rosaanne’s navy-blue door. It cracked open and her electric yellow eyes peeked out, latching on mine. Then, the door opened swiftly, the draft of the motion fluffing up her curly, scarlet hair and flaring up her short black dress that hung loosely over her curves. “Princess Ripley,” she greeted with a friendly smile. “Hi.”

“Hi, Rosaanne.” I gave her a similar smile.

“Come in, come in,” she said, opening the door even wider and moving aside.

When I stepped into her home, it was bright and airy, opposite of Mirin’s home. Each wall of the house was painted a different color of blue and purple. Yellow accents were scattered around the room andgreen ivy grew along the walls. Perched in the corner of the ceiling was a rayko bird cleaning its black feathers. Touches of their iridescence played peekaboo every time it lifted a silky plume. On the back wall was a bright countertop and a metal basin for a sink that reflected the sun streaming in from the three skylights. Across the walls, I’d expected to see hanging pots and pans, but instead, there were black shelves holding up several glass cages that contained a variety of insects.

I walked up to them, eyeing the one creature I’d seen before. It was what the Cidris used to teleport where they needed to go. Its perfectly spherical body had three razor-thin legs protruding from either side. A small head glided smoothly over its entire body in any direction it wanted. “I’ve seen these before.”

“Oh yes, the drabe.”

“Drabe,” I echoed to myself, memorizing the way it felt on my tongue. My eyes shifted to each of the other insects and my heart felt like it snapped into place. I connected to each one like they were mine to take care of—my babies.

“They are an endangered species because of the stupid Cidris. So when I got enchanted a few years back, I found some on my way home, and I thoughtmaybe I could breed them to sustain our ecosystem,” she said, stepping next to me and pointing at the second container that held another drabe.

She cared. And as much as I did about the Ölden Lands. “That’s,” I took a deep breath, watching the kindness in her eyes as she gently scratched the container like she was petting it, “very sweet of you.”

She grinned and pulled her hair into a frizzy ponytail, wrapping it with a silver tie. “Well, thanks.”

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