The Whispering Echoes (Smoke and Mirrors Book 3)

by Melissa Giorgio

  “Angeletta,” Claudette said, giving her horse another pat on the nose.

  “And this,” Emile said proudly, “is Jesper.”

  “They’re beautiful.”

  “Yes, and they know it, too. It doesn’t help that Emile spoils them incessantly.” Leaving her horse, Claudette plopped down next to me, picking up a piece of straw and twirling it between her fingers. Catching my gaze, she said, “Don’t worry. I won’t try to make a flower crown out of straw. Even I know that’s impossible.”

  “Was it hard, seeing her yesterday?”

  She inhaled deeply, her eyes grim. “Very. And I feel horrible that she’s justifying everything she’s doing by saying she’s doing it for me.”

  “That’s not your fault,” Emile said.

  “I know, but…” Claudette shrugged helplessly. “I still feel guilty. But at least we got the stone back. When do you think you’re going to leave for Dusk?”

  “Soon.” My heart clenched as soon as I said that because it was the truth. We needed to return the stone to Parnaby before Aeonia changed her mind and came back for it. She’d said she’d stay away, but we’d be fools to trust her.

  “We’re coming with you,” Claudette said.

  I stared at her in shock. There was no need for that. The only reason she’d joined our party in the first place was to trade the amplifier for the stone. But now we had both, and Claudette and Emile were free to go on their way with their amplifier, never to cross paths with us again. “Why?”

  “Because if that thing is as evil as it seems, then I’m not going to be able to fall asleep until I see it back where it belongs, protected from people like Aeonia.” Her fingers clutched the straw. “That, and what happened to you is my fault.”

  “What happened to me?” I repeated slowly. “You don’t mean—the magic?”

  She nodded, staring at the floor. Some of her hair had slipped from her messy ponytail and was covering her face like a curtain, making it impossible for me to read her expression.

  “That wasn’t your fault either,” I said, meaning it. “We had no idea that a wound on my hand plus Aeonia’s blood plus an incredibly evil stone would equal magic. Claudette.” I placed my hand on her arm, keeping it there until she looked at me. “That wasn’t your fault.”

  “I know you’re like me,” she whispered. Behind us, Emile stopped brushing Jesper, as if he was frozen in place. “I know you despise magic after what your master did to you. And now I’ve cursed you to this life. Even if you wanted to escape from the magic after you returned the stone to Dusk, now you can’t.”

  “I was banished from Dusk.” I could feel Claudette stiffening with surprise under my fingers. “For giving Aeonia the stone. Parnaby—Elyse’s ex? He’s also the president of Dusk. But he uses magic to manipulate everyone into blindly following his orders. I was able to break free of his magic because of Jaegger’s influence; that’s how I managed to find the stone. And that’s how I set everything into motion. Before we left Dusk, Parnaby told me I couldn’t come back. I believed him…” I laughed quietly, but without humor. “I really thought we’d return the stone and I’d remain on one side of the wall with Vernen while Leonid and the others returned home. But now?” I smiled and it must have been malicious because Claudette’s eyes widened. “Now I have a way of fighting back if Parnaby tries to prevent me from returning.”

  She held up her hands. “You’re a little frightening right now, Irina.”

  I laughed again, and this time it was genuine. “You shouldn’t worry. Right now it seems like all I’m capable of is blowing up teapots.”

  “That’s more than I can do,” she responded with a fierce grin of her own. “But wait a minute, all right? You’re totally distracting me from what you just said. Elyse’s ex-lover is controlling your entire city with magic?”

  My humor fled as quickly as it’d appeared. “Yes, unfortunately.”

  Cursing, she scooted closer to my stool as Emile put away the brush and sat down next to her. “All right, I know I told you to keep us in the dark because we didn’t want to inadvertently tell Aeonia anything, but you have to spill, Irina! What is going on in your city?”

  “It’s so complicated that I don’t even know where to start. I think I need a week’s rest before I can even attempt to explain it all. And…” I thought about what Elyse had alluded to earlier about Dusk’s connection to Parnaby. “There’s something else, besides the stone. I don’t know what, but whatever it is, it has to be both dangerous and important.”

  “Wonderful,” Claudette muttered.

  “Oh, stop.” Emile pushed her playfully on the shoulder. “You love this sort of stuff.” To me, he said, “She may complain, but she’s actually enjoying herself immensely. My sister loves her adventures.”

  She shoved him back. “Be quiet, Emile!”

  I watched them, feeling lighter than I thought possible. “You’ll really come to Dusk with me?”

  They stopped bickering to blink in surprise. “Of course,” Emile said. “We’re seeing this through to the end.”

  Touched, I thanked them for their kindness, unsure if I’d ever be able to repay it.

  “So rest up, Irina,” Claudette said. “Make amends with your captain and get ready to go home.”

  Home. A thrill raced through me. Was the end of our journey really in sight? We’d already done the impossible. Would we see this to the end?

  I looked up as Aden approached the stables. Confused, I wondered what he was doing here.

  “Are you all right?” he asked me.

  Glancing at the siblings, I nodded.

  “Good, that’s good.” He scratched at the back of his neck, looking nervous. What was he scared of? My stomach dropped. Not… me?

  I stood, overturning the stool. “Aden, I—” Feeling my magic flare up, I flinched and concentrated hard on not unleashing it unexpectedly again. Behind me the horses shuffled nervously.

  “Irina.” Claudette stood slowly. “Stay calm.”

  I shut my eyes and willed my pulse to slow as I struggled to clamp down on the magic. After a moment my panic abated and I opened my eyes to see everyone staring at me.

  Pale, Aden held out a hand. “I didn’t meant to make you upset. I’m sorry.”

  “You’re scared of me,” I whispered.

  “What? No!” He came into the stables to stand in front of me. “No, of course not! I came to see if you wanted to try to talk to Leonid again. We explained what’d happened, and he’s angry at himself for what he said. So I thought… I thought I’d find you and tell you to come back into the house. I don’t know if he’ll be mad that I’m meddling, but…” A small smile tugged at his lips. “He’s always mad at me, so it really doesn’t matter what I do, right?”

  “That’s not true!” I said.

  “Yes, it is.”

  Laughing, I was forced to agree. “I won’t tell him what you said.” I touched him on the arm, briefly, before pulling away. There was a flicker of sadness in his green eyes, but he hid it with another smile. “Claudette…” I glanced at her.

  “Go,” she said. “We’ll stay out here for a bit longer, so the two of you can talk in private.” She flashed me a wicked grin. “Just try not to break anything else, all right?”

  Shaking my head, I left the barn, my legs steadier than they’d been when I entered it. Blinking at the bright sunlight, I shaded my eyes and began to make my way to the house when I saw Jaegger sitting under a tree, watching me.

  Sorry, Leonid, I thought, joining the dragon under the bare branches of the majestic tree. It was taller than the house and would provide shade for the entire backyard when its branches bore leaves. I sat down, resting my back against the rough bark of the tree, once again marveling at the warmth in the air. I wasn’t even wearing my coat, just Claudette’s borrowed clothes, and I didn’t feel a chill at all.

  The yard was spacious but bare. I imagined Jack and his brother didn’t spend much time out here, which was a shame because
they had plenty of room for a garden. Throw in a few benches and a table and they could eat their meals out here in the summer when the weather was perfect. We didn’t have much in the way of a yard back home, although Elyse was planning on growing a garden in the tiny space that was ours. I’d been looking forward to seeing it come springtime.

  “I’m sorry I left,” Jaegger said. He was sitting upright, his eyes on the house. “You had some trouble with the magic after I was gone, didn’t you?”

  Cheeks burning, I muttered, “I made the teapot explode.”

  “That’s not too bad.”

  “Yes, it is! I’d already broken Jack’s bowl and spilled porridge on the floor! He’s going to throw me out of the house!”

  “It could have been worse,” the dragon said, grinning. “You could have set the house on fire.”

  I stared at him, unsure if he was joking. He probably isn’t, I thought with a growing sense of horror.

  “Don’t worry. I would’ve contained the fire before it became uncontrollable,” he continued.

  “Jae!”

  His smile faded. “I should not have left you.” Instinctively I knew he was talking about the moment in the forest, and not earlier in the bedroom.

  Hugging my legs to my chest, I decided to be honest with him because I knew he would appreciate that the most. “I understand why you did. I would have done the same thing in your place. But, Jae, you should have said something.” I let him see the hurt on my face. “I didn’t think you were coming back.”

  “I mistreated you,” he said. “And your soldier is right; if I hadn’t left, you wouldn’t have been attacked and you wouldn’t be dealing with magic of your own now.” Jaegger bowed his head, his posture entirely submissive. “You should hate me.”

  Maybe he was right; maybe I should hate him for what’d happened to me. But like with Claudette, I couldn’t blame him for it. I’d made my decision when I took the stone from Parnaby’s mansion. Everything that happened after that was entirely because of that choice. My choice. “I could never hate you,” I said. “But I need to know you won’t ever do that again—”

  “I won’t.” His eyes were shining brightly. “Little bird, I do not break my promises, and I promised I would see this through to the end. What happened to you yesterday will never happen again.”

  “Was it worth it?” I asked. “Did you have fun with your… lady dragon?” This time I wouldn’t let him push aside my questions about his time spent with the other dragon.

  Jaegger’s nostrils flared in irritation. “I know what you’re insinuating and you’re wrong. There was no fun to be had.”

  My brows rose in surprise. “Nothing happened?” Poking him in the side I teased, “Are you sure? Maybe it’s just been so long you’ve forgotten what to do and something did happen, and you just didn’t realize it.”

  “Little bird.” Jaegger stood so he loomed over me like a giant ebony statue. “I assure you that I would be fully aware if something had happened between me and Senia.”

  “Is that her name? Senia? And how come nothing happened? Wait, let me guess.” I held up a hand. “You started talking in that important voice of yours and she rolled her eyes and flew away.”

  His eyes narrowed dangerously, but he didn’t respond.

  “Wait—am I right?” I laughed, but it quickly died away when Jaegger began growling.

  “Tell me more about this ‘important voice.” His tail swished back and forth, knocking against the tree trunk with a steady thump. “Is it very… off-putting?”

  “It does make you sound like you think you’re better than everyone else,” I said, wincing as I waited for his reaction.

  I wasn’t disappointed. With a roar, he said, “I am a god!”

  Covering my ears, I waited until he was done carrying on before continuing. “All right, that’s fine, but you don’t have to be in god-mode all the time. It’s intimidating.” I could see he didn’t understand what I meant, so I searched desperately for an example. “Like with Aden! He still looks at you like he expects you to chomp his head off at any moment!”

  “That’s because I can—” Jaegger cut himself off. “Oh. Is that what you mean?” His voice was genuinely curious. He has no idea how he behaves!

  “That is exactly what I mean. Senia wasn’t impressed by all the roaring and the proclamations. If she’s anything like a female human,” I said, “then she’s more interested in the real you.” I touched him on the chest. “The one inside there. The one that calls me ‘little bird’ and vows to help me keep the world safe. That’s the Jaegger you need to show her.” A thought occurred to me. “You do plan on seeing her again, right?”

  His expression turned troubled. “Before she left, she said there were others—more than I could imagine. I spent all these years thinking I was the last of my kind, but I was a fool.”

  “But that’s a good thing, right?”

  “It is, but she didn’t tell me where my brethren live,” Jaegger said. “There’s a whole world out there, and I have no idea where to look first.”

  “Would you like some help?”

  He blinked in surprise. “Little bird?”

  “Well,” I said, “since you’re so nicely helping me with the stone, when this is all over I should return the favor and help you find your family, don’t you think?”

  He held my gaze for a long moment before looking away. When he spoke, his voice had gone very soft and gentle. “I would like that very much.”

  LEAVING JAEGGER OUTSIDE TO ENJOY the sunshine, I went back in to speak with Leonid. The room had cleared out, leaving only Vernen sitting in the chair next to the bed. Upon seeing me he rose, his eyes searching my face.

  “I’m fine,” I told him. The broken bowl and teapot had been cleaned up; again I felt a stab of guilt for breaking Jack’s property.

  Passing me on the way out of the room, Vernen stopped to murmur in my ear. “It’ll get better.” He shut the door behind him, leaving me alone with Leonid.

  The room was utterly silent as I came over to Leonid’s bedside and sat down in the chair Vernen had been occupying moments ago. Leonid was propped up with a mountain of pillows, his face pale but his eyes burning intently. He’s waiting for me to speak, I realized as the silence stretched into minutes.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, my gaze focused on my lap. The end of my bandage on my left hand had come undone, so I tucked it back in. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.”

  “Well, I’m not sorry for what I said to Jaegger,” he replied stubbornly. “Anyone who hurts you has to answer to me.”

  I glanced at him shyly. “Even dragons?”

  “Especially dragons.” Leonid held out his hand; I stared at it for a moment before taking it. “They told me what happened to you. Is it… Are you in pain?”

  “I’m learning how to handle it,” I answered truthfully.

  He flinched. “Oh, Lark…”

  “Will you…” Tears stung my eyes and I sucked in a sharp breath, fighting them back. “Does this change things between us?”

  “What?” Leonid lurched forward before flopping against the pillows with a groan. “Damn this stab wound and damn my ribs. If I was myself, I’d take you in my arms and show you exactly how I feel about you. How I still feel about you.”

  I swiped at a tear. “Tell me, then.”

  “I love you,” Leonid said. “I will always love you. I don’t care if you can shoot flames from your fingertips or blow up teapots with your mind or if you grow a pair of wings and start flying. You will always be Lark. The girl with the hair like fire who captured my heart from the moment I first saw her.” His grip on my fingers tightened as he swallowed nervously. “Now that you can do all of these amazing things, do you still want boring old me around?”

  It was hard to speak around the lump in my throat, but I prevailed. “There’s nothing in this world that I want more. And you’re not that boring.”

  “Very nice,” he said, a relieved smile on h
is face. Standing, I leaned over and kissed him carefully on the lips, but Leonid pulled me down with his right arm as he deepened the kiss.

  I broke away. “If West walks in right now, he’ll kill me.”

  Leonid scowled. “West won’t walk in right now because he knows if he does, I will kill him.”

  “You shouldn’t kill our medic,” I said with a laugh.

  “Hmm.” He pretended to consider it. “After we heal up, then. We won’t need him anymore.”

  “At the rate I’m going, I’m always going to need him to patch me up.”

  He turned serious. “How’s your hand?”

  I sat back down in my chair. Even though Leonid was inches from me, the distance between us was frustrating. If I didn’t have to worry about his ribs… Shaking my head, I focused on his question before I did something reckless. “It hurts. West and Jack are confident it’ll be fine once it heals. I just really hope I’m done with getting stabbed in this hand.”

  Leonid made a noise of agreement. “I’m completely done with getting stabbed as well. This is not fun.”

  “I’ll just have to distract you from the pain,” I said, deciding to be reckless after all. Rising once more, I went around the other side of the bed and slid on top of it.

  Raising his brows, Leonid murmured, “I like where this is going.”

  Curling up against his side, taking care not to touch his shoulder, I tilted my face forward, kissing him again. And again. Groaning, Leonid’s hand tangled in my hair and he pulled me closer—as close as we dared.

  “Damn these wounds!” he said in between kisses.

  “Shh,” I said. “Stop thinking about them.”

  “But I can’t because I keep imagining what we’d do next if I wasn’t wounded, and how we can’t do it because I’m wounded and—”

  I covered his lips with my hand. “You talk too much.”

  His dark eyes glittered dangerously. “Then shut me up.”

  I was all too eager to comply.

  LATER WE LAY SIDE BY side, talking. Normally I’d rest my head on Leonid’s shoulder, but with his injury, I settled for stealing one of his pillows and stretching out next to him, my eyes on the ceiling. We talked about everything that’d happened; even though he heard it from the others, he wanted to hear it from me. When I tried to explain the magic to him, and how it felt having it course through me, I stumbled over my words, unsure how to describe it. I was starting to realize it was something you needed to experience in order to understand.