Page 103 of When Roses Burn

Gizzi turned his head to look at me. “I don’t get that from it.”

I chuckled and pried myself away from the moss to harvest more of it. With scissors in hand, I crept across the plant as I cut more hairs and carefully stored them in my bucket.

When my pail was full, I caressed the moss again while whispering, “Thank you.”

Though I didn’t feel a breeze, the remaining hairs all swayed as if a wind had blown across them. I frowned while studying the moss that stilled once more.

Did I imagine that?

“Interesting,” Gizzi murmured.

“You saw that too?”

“I did.”

“What do you think it means?” I asked.

“What do you think it means?”

“I have no idea.”

“Neither do I.”

With a sigh, I lifted my pail and returned to the castle. I also had to find a book on casters. I had to see if there was anything I didn’t know about my kind, because I was certain things were happening to me that hadn’t occurred to anyone else… or at least not anyone I knew.

However, first I had to make a potion for my bleeding heart, and I needed somewhere to do that. I entered the castle through the mudroom again and discovered a sprite tying all the boot laces together.

“Excuse me,” I said.

The small creature didn’t realize I was there until I spoke. He jumped off the ground and flew for a couple of seconds before landing again; his blue and gold dragonfly wings folded into place.

His black hair stood up in spikes around his narrow face and pointed chin when he turned to scowl at me. “You shouldn’t scare a man like that!”

I waved at the knotted bootlaces. “You would have known I was here if you weren’t focused on this.”

His gray eyes returned to his handiwork, and he sighed. “I suppose you’re going to rat me out.”

“I won’t tell a soul… if you show me where I can create a potion with the earth moss hairs I’ve gathered.”

His mouth pursed; he looked at my pail before focusing on where Gizzi sat on my shoulder, cleaning his face with his paws. The sprite’s jaw dropped so fast it looked like it might unhinge.

“That’s a lowleeto!” he blurted.

“You know about them?”

“Not a whole lot, but they’re one of the most lethal animals in the kingdoms.”

I chuckled, but when the sprite didn’t look amused, my laughter faded. “Excuse me?”

“That creature contains enough poison to kill you in seconds.”

I glanced at the adorable creature on my shoulder as Gizzi lowered his paws and gave a tiny shrug. “Is that true?” I asked him.

“I wouldn’t poison you, but yes, it’s true.”

“Then why were you running from the basilisk?”

“Are you talking to yourself?” the sprite inquired.