Page 80 of The City Of Fractured Memory

“Her majesty has kicked me out of my own kitchen,” he grumbles, winking at me.

“Maybe if you stopped flirting with her constantly then she’d tolerate your presence, Osiris,” Amari scolds him, still trying to hide her smile.

He looks at her indignantly. “I can’t help it if she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen!” He turns to me. “I even gifted her the most beautiful mushroom, it was gold all over, it was glorious. And she acted like I’d given her a dumb acorn!”

I bite my lip, trying not to laugh. I decide not to tell him that I’m pretty sure the mushroom in question is currently in pride of place in her shrine back in our apartment. I’ve always wondered where it came from. Given that she decided to bring it with her when she left Lunoreth, it must mean a great deal to her, which makes her annoyance with him more than a little confusing.

“Maybe you should try a different tactic?” I suggest with a laugh.

“Ah, she’ll succumb to my charm one day, you’ll see.”

“I’d rather succumb to a slow, painful death!” Stryx shouts from the kitchen.

“Stop bickering, the pair of you,” Amari cuts in, rolling her eyes again. “Osiris, why don’t you introduce yourself to Octavia?”

He laughs. “Why? I know it’s been twenty years, but surely she remembers me?”

I shake my head, my smile dropping. “I’m sorry. I recognise you a little, but not enough.”

“Huh. Interesting,” he muses, leaning forward to rest his forearms on his knees. “So, you don’t remember anything at all? What about Lunoreth?”

I shake my head again and he glances at Amari with raised eyebrows. “You really weren’t kidding.”

“She will remember with time,” Amari says gently. “Octavia, this is my son, Osiris. He’s one of our best healers.”

I have a cousin?

“You’re a healer?” I ask with intrigue.

“Yes, he’s even managed to bring someone back from the brink of death before,” Amari says proudly. “Such a gift is rare among our people.”

My eyes widen as I take him in, his eyes—green like mine—his short, messy white hair and smug smile. There’s something different about him, though, about them both. They have an elegant sort of grace about them that I most certainly lack. I turn back to Amari and look her up and down too, taking in her striking features, so similar to mine, when a thought occurs.

“What race of Echofae are you?” I blurt it out before I can finish the thought, my cheeks reddening when I realise it’s probably a rude question to ask, but I need to know. Luckily she doesn’t seem annoyed by my probing, a genuine smile spreading across her face.

“I’ll show you.”

She stands and backs away off the porch, gesturing for me to stay seated. I watch her in rapid anticipation, my heart stuttering wildly. I can’t believe I didn’t consider this before—could it be possible that I have an alternate form, hiding beneath my skin? For the first time since we arrived here, I feel myself buzzing with excitement.

She inhales deeply then shifts with remarkable speed. Her body lengthens, growing to an enormous size as dazzling white fur replaces her skin, marked with thousands of tiny dark blue rings, like the biggest snow leopard I’ve ever seen. Huge feathered wings spring from her back, and long, twisted black horns protrude from her head behind her pointed ears. She settles into her true form, and I stare at her wide-eyed.

“You’re an Auralis,” I breathe, my awe impossible to hide.

She nods her giant cat-like head as she pads back towards me, the decking of the porch creaking dangerously under her weight. She sits in front of me and I slowly stretch out a shaking hand, brushing my fingers against her fur. She purrs at the contact, a deep vibration rolling through her chest that calms me instantly.

“Can you speak to me in my mind like Stryx does?” I ask, continuing to thread my fingers through her silky fur.

“Yes, my sweet. All Echofae can in their true forms.”

“Can—do you think I…” I stumble on the words, trying not to cling to the small hope that’s starting to burn through me.

She hangs her head slightly, then turns back into her humanoid form, the shift so sudden I almost fall off my chair. She observes me with a sad smile as she returns to sit next to me, and my hope snuffs out like a flame in the wind. She lays a hand on my leg and squeezes. I assume the gesture was meant to reassure me, but it does the opposite.

“No, I don’t think you can,” she says sadly. “You have Echofae magic in your veins, of that I’m certain, but I’m not sure a half mortal would be able to shift into another form.”

“How can you be sure?” I ask, trying and failing to hide my disappointment.

“Has Stryx not told you?” Osiris says with a frown. “Echofae need to shift regularly. If we stay in our humanoid forms for too long, we go mad. Since you’ve been alive for so long without shifting, and you still have your mind, one must assume that it is not something you inherited.”