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“It’s all gone,” I say weakly.
“We saved a lot of people,” Prudencia says. “That’s what matters most.”
“Yeah, but . . . we didn’t get to grab anything of Ma’s.”
I feel powerless to save her all over again.
Forty-One
Dayrose
EMIL
There’s a knock at my window.
I shared the bread from my dinner with this common ivory and she’s probably back for more. I turn over from my bed, up from my third nap since almost retrocycling, and Wyatt is somehow hovering outside even though he isn’t a gleamcrafter. I realize what’s what. I squint, just able to make out Nox, who is blending into the shadows tonight. I struggle opening the window, pain shooting up from my reignited infinity-ender wounds, but I manage. Wyatt hops inside and Nox zooms away.
“Is my door broken?” I ask.
“Sweet Emil, I kindly request that you welcome more flair into your life.”
“Sure thing, I’ll schedule that in after I go back in time.”
“Fantastic.” Wyatt digs inside his satchel and withdraws a mason jar containing a thick liquid I can only describe as red mud. “Here, good sir, is your Dayrose salve.”
I unscrew the top.
“Wait, don’t!”
But it’s too late. This Dayrose salve, whatever this is, doesn’t smell like any rose. I gag so hard, screwing the top back on immediately. The stench reminds me of this time that I cooked some veggie pasta for the family, but some of it got left in the pot while we were away for a few days, and it molded so bad that Brighton threw up on the kitchen floor upon smelling it. Wyatt lowers his headband to cover his mouth and nose before passing me an extra so I can do the same.
“Possibly the worst smell in the world,” Wyatt says. “I’d rather be around Nox when he’s having stomach issues and I promise that’s no garden stroll.”
My eyes are watering. “What the hell is Dayrose?”
“It’s a flower that smells quite lovely on its own, but you mix anything with a couple corpse flowers and you get that assault on your senses. The salve was created to heal phoenixes whose regenerative powers are on the slower side, such as the queen slayers. As much as those phoenixes viciously conquered dragons, they often returned from battle wounded.”
As tragic as the extinction of dragons is, I’m pretty relieved I don’t have to go up against any dragon specters.
“I must’ve missed every detail about Dayrose in all my studies.”
“That’s because it’s a trade secret. Halo Knight exclusive.” Wyatt sits on the windowsill, lifting his headband to breathe in some fresh air. “Though if we’re being honest, I believe there’s a future path where you become a Halo Knight. Certainly controversial since you’re a specter, but that won’t always be the case.”
Back when starting up community college was supposed to be the next phase of my life, I was excited to dive deeper into researching phoenixes. I believed working with Kirk at the museum was going to pair well with all my academic lessons. I thought there was a chance I could even take over the exhibit one day.
I never dared to dream about becoming a Halo Knight.
This would be an amazing opportunity for me. It’s not as if I can ever return to my normal life with people knowing me as Fire-Wing and Infinity Son. I could probably even be safe here and learn how to better protect phoenixkind. But there’s no way they would actually welcome me as one of their own.
“It’s a cute thought, but we both know that’s never going down.”
“What’s wrong with that? There are two ways to become a Halo Knight. The first is being born into it, a wonderful life hack I was privileged with. Or you can make significant contributions to phoenixkind. I’m not on the council, but between your gorgeous face and, oh, you know, retrocycling to find a potion that will banish the essences of fallen phoenixes from specters, you’re a shoo-in.”
Thankfully this headband around my face is hiding my blushed cheeks after Wyatt’s gorgeous comment. “The only problem is that my past life causing this is pretty unforgivable, right? Making me a Halo Knight now would be like giving someone a promotion for fixing their own massive screw-up. One that cost lives.”
“Well, our numbers are down, so we can’t be picky,” Wyatt says and I can tell that he’s smiling behind his headband. “Truly, Emil, you have the heart for this. If you can create this potion and get rid of your powers, you are well on the way to joining us. I would mentor the holy blazes out of you.”
He’s staring at me so damn lustfully that I need some air.
