She sat at the table behind the counter , everyone gathered there looked like they were in some kind of meeting.
Their echoes practically thickened the air, making the whole room hum with tension.
No one spoke for a long time. Somehow, she could feel the silence had something to do with her. Maybe because Darkov had just mentioned Gralik , right in front of the green-eyed man on the table.
He didn't save me because he's good, did he? He must've had a reason. There's always a reason. And the reason they haven't asked who I am… yeah, that's the same one. They think I made a deal with Gralik - that I helped him escape. Which means before they figure out who I am, I'd better figure out who they are.
"Who are you?"
I looked at their faces. They were all glancing at one another, reading reactions, except Koren.
I kept staring at him , I wanted him to notice. But he didn't even twitch. He just stared into his cup like it held all the answers.
Really? In the middle of all this chaos, and I'm still obsessing over whether he looks at me?
"If you weren't an Echo-Bender, I wouldn't have brought you here,"
Darkov said flatly.
"I'm not an Echo-Bender! I've never even heard of that in my life!"
"There's no need to hide your identity. We're on your side , in your cause."
My eyes blinked, confused. My cause? What cause? Was he talking about Gralik fell in love with the princess? And why would he care about that anyway?
"If I were hiding something, trust me , I wouldn't have asked for your help."
"I'll admit, I'm surprised-,"
he said, leaning forward.
"-You used your Echo to decay the body of the man who saved you - don't ask me how - and you managed to reverse my Echo, didn't you?"
Wait. I did that? Okay, I mean, sure, I'll take the compliment, but come on , I didn't kill that guy.
And if I told them the real reason, I'd probably be dead already. Even if I didn't see the Death-Bringer today, he definitely saw me, I felt.
But sure, let's test my luck now if he's been watching me! Priorities, right? If only that story had been about this world instead of a tragic romance…
I glanced again at the green-eyed man across the table - still pretending not to exist - and then turned back to Darkov, voice steady.
"Then let me prove I can't bend echoes. I'll show you I don't know the first thing about it."
"That won't prove anything."
"That depends on who you think I am, doesn't it?"
Her eyes flicked instantly toward the green-eyed man, but still no reaction. He looked hypnotized by his drink.
Ravion, sitting beside her, rested his chin on his hand, clearly bored. He reached out lazily and touched her arm.
"Dude, I've been watching you all day , it was literally my assignment. Haven't you noticed? None of the people you met today showed any emotion beyond neutral, and yet you- you're overflowing with feeling. Admit it, and I can finally go home."
He said it with such whiny exhaustion.
Now that he mentioned it… people had been oddly blank all day. Even when they got mad, it only lasted a second before they went back to normal. Even after Cassira's performance their emotions seemed to fade after a while, like they forgot what they were feeling.
"But wait, doesn't that mean I'm the normal one?"
she asked.
"Yes,"
Ravion said simply.
Great. That clears up absolutely nothing. Darkov, care to explain?
Cassira jumped in too quickly.
"You're an Echo-Bender, so you can stay with us!"
A beat passed , then she frowned, glancing at Darkov.
"...I mean, you can, right?"
Darkov slowly lifted his hand to his face, studying the person still disguised as Gralik. He thought the man was too good at his act.
Then, lowering his hand parallel to the table, he made a sharp motion. Everyone but him tensed up.
Koren suddenly stood, making it clear he wanted no part of this. Without lifting his green eyes from the floor, he turned and walked toward the door.
Darkov narrowed his eyes and flicked his arm in a quick, semicircular motion, Cassira barely managed to grab Ravion and pull him back in time.
The air left my lungs like I'd been punched. My hands clawed at my throat. I slammed the table, this wasn't normal suffocating; it felt like even my lungs had been emptied of oxygen.
My head hit the table with a crack. Darkov froze, then jerked his hand the opposite way. His expression changed completely , pure shock.
I gasped, greedily dragging air back into my chest. How many times had I nearly died like this already? My body trembled again , and I hated it. Why did people always have to see me like this, at my weakest?
I didn't lift my head. Instead, I slid my hand across the table until I found something , then hurled it toward where Darkov had been.
…No sound.
When I finally looked up, he was holding the metal bowl I'd thrown, like he'd caught it midair. He didn't even seem to realize he'd done it , his face had gone distant, thoughtful.
"You can't bend echoes… Then who is the person that saved you? And why did he die? Was it Gralik?"
I could barely breathe again, chest heaving. I had no power against them, none at all , and I definitely didn't have whatever magic they thought I did.
"Then why does echo affect me?"
He muttered, almost to himself, each word more shocked than the last.
Now it was just the two of them left in the bar. She stood suddenly, the chair scraping harshly, and stormed off to her room.
Not that room meant anything to me. Nothing in this world was mine , I couldn't even call my body mine.
I slammed it shut behind me, leaning against it as I slid down to the floor.
"I'm so done being weak. Seriously. I have a body built like this and I'm still pathetic."
A faint vibration pulsed against my back from the door. I didn't want to open it. I was mad at everyone in this building right now.
But whoever was out there didn't insist.
Still, the feeling lingered. Was someone waiting outside? When I finally cracked the door open, there was no one.
"Oh."
Just a few folded clothes lying on the floor. I looked around , he was gone.
"No, no, no, don't-!"
Too late. I picked them up, brought them to my nose.
"Ohhh-wow."
They smelled really good. I slipped them on , they fit my body perfectly, which somehow made it worse. A warm, confusing feeling stirred in my chest.
She slapped her own face with realization.
"Really? You're catching feelings now? The man helps you once, and you're in love? No, no , he literally left you to die!"
Still fuming, I caught sight of myself in the mirror. Oh. Oh no. Are those… biceps? flexed, instinctively. Then started giggling.
"So this is what he looks like, huh?"
Another slap.
"Wow. You've officially lost it. You're falling for yourself now. The last isolation really is getting to you!"
"Huff..Maybe I'm not the one trapped in this world maybe it's trying to keep me."