Page 64 of Phoenix Burn

When I finished, she looked away, into the forest. It was filled with bright eyes, all focused on me. A few smaller creatures had ventured out of the bushes toward us.

“You don’t seem surprised,” I noted.

Her gaze returned to me, and I saw sadness. “I hate to think one of my people may have caused the death of your family. But I have reason to believe that your dream was, indeed, a memory.”

“But—why? Why were they after us?”

“There is much yet, that has to be explained. And I am loathed to speculate, when it might be so important to you.” Her assessing gaze intensified. “Can you trust me on this, Anna? I know it is a huge ask. But I promise that I will not quit until I have answers.”

I hesitated, before asking, “Will you tell me, regardless of what those answers might be?”

Her lips twitched. “Yes. Even if my own people were the ones who did this, I will tell you, once I know the truth of it.”

I believed her. It wasn’t just her words or expression. It was the energy I could now feel coming off her. Her honesty ran through it.

I nodded.

She held up the photos. “Can I hold on to these for a bit? If I can trace the realms, I might find information on who your parents were.”

In for a penny... “Okay.”

The photos disappeared into the pocket of her airy gown. She rubbed her hands together. “Now, we get to experiment with your powers.”

I pursued my second driving question. “Am I hurting Trix?”

“No, you are most certainly not,” she said with emphasis.

“Then why are her eyes and hair changing color?”

She smiled at me. “Your hair might change too.”

My eyes widened.

Cara put a hand up to her hair, and something moved within it. A tiny mouse, pure white, with bright-blue eyes.

“Meet Timothy,” she said, handing him over to me. “He’s been wanting to meet you so badly he kept nipping my ear.”

I let him scamper over my hand. “Won’t I hurt him?”

“I think you are safe for now. At the moment, your main trigger seems to be emotion. We will work on that. “

“So Trix’s fur will turn white?”

“Likely. Tapping into life essences can alter the pigmentation of eyes and hair.” She smiled. “It is a sign that her life energy is syncing to your own. It happens to those that spend a lot of time with us. I have a plethora of pure white animal friends. And my hair used to be black.”

“Is that what I’m doing? Tapping into life essences?”

Her mouth twisted. “Yes, it seems so.”

I handed Timothy back to her, but the little mouse refused to go. Cara frowned and picked him up, replacing him underneath her hair. The group of animals surrounding us was only growing, with more creeping into the clearing.

A furry rodent thing the size of a turkey dragged a piece of what looked like cloth.

WTF.

There was no mistaking the lacy tulip-themed panties torn off me by Matt. Why was this animal dragging my underwear around? No wonder I hadn’t been able to find them...

I shot a look at Cara, whose lips twitched. “It seems curiously attached to them. Perhaps as nesting material?”

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