Page 33 of What Whispers in the Dark
“I waited until the party concluded and the lanterns were removed to jump from the roof.” She smiled. Subtle, but a smile, nonetheless. Then chuckled, “I startled him,” and widened her grin. “One of my favorite games to play in the years thereafter.”
Garrik could imagine her amusement because he and Aiden delighted in such trickery to torment Thalon. Lurking aroundcorners, leaping out to elicit such an entertaining shriek from one so solidly built and steady-minded.
“What happened next?” he asked, and she loosened her punishing hold that had maneuvered to her ribs.
Good.She did not need to punish herself for it any longer.
A moment of hesitation, then, “Can I show you?”
He thought he may have imagined it, but no. That was another smile contorting his face. She was asking him into her mind. For the first time, she wanted him there. How could he possibly say anything other than, “Of course.”
Alora’s memories caressed him like a warm palm cupping his cheek the moment she closed her eyes, and his magic—his shadows—slipped through the barrier between them.
“Stay back,” the faeling male warned, terrified. Terrified because the hand hovering over a bleeding wound on the pixie’s shoulder had exploded with blinding white light. When it lifted …
Nothing. Where that wound had been … there wasnothing.Not even a spec of blood.
“You havemagic?” she squeaked, a little too loud and excited that if someone was passing by, it wouldn’t go unnoticed. The pixie in his hand darted away, the only thing to remind them of her presence; a swirling trail of glitter in the wind.
“Shh, shh.” He ran to her and covered her mouth. She couldn’t decide if she should be surprised or disgusted. “You can’t tell anyone!” Pleading ice-blue eyes darted around the darkened courtyard, empty save for the still-decorated tables and chairs, and cascading pots of pearlseas and ivy twisting up marbled pillars and archways.
Alora pulled his hand from her mouth and gaped.
She had never met another Marked One. And a healer at that. One who … who could fix her mistake …
“Please,” he choked out and opened his mouth to speak, but Alora covered it instead.
Guided by moonlight, in the reflection of his eyes, she could see her hand between them ignite. White flames dancing with sparks turned them so wide the whites glowed, and he fell back on his behind.
“I have magic, too, silly.” Extending her hand, the flames resigned, and she offered, “I’m Alora.”
But he didn’t take her hand. Didn’t return the gesture, utterly speechless.
She snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Hello?” Elongating the vowel as it singsonged from her tongue.
He hiccupped, finding his voice. “I’m … I’m Rowlen.”
“Since that moment, we have been best friends.Bonded by the treasonous secrets we shared,” Alora said on the hill. “He kept me alive. An orphan with no home, no family. No food most weeks and little clean water. Certainly no new clothing except for the two pairs I washed in the building’s rain runoff and puddles of Outcastle Alley.
“Rowlen made certain I never went hungry. Any injury was healed. Any sickness. He hid me in different rooms of his parents’ manor for a long while. His mother often questioned how he ateso much foodand stayed so scrawny.
“He played pranks on their servants, so I would go unnoticed sneaking around the halls more times than I can count. Staying up till all hours of the night, dreaming on his rooftop. The wild notions of faelings and futures.” She remained silent for longer than a few breaths, eyes twinkling, then laughed. “Stars, the mischief Rowlen and I got into.”
And the light in her eyes. The pure joy and mirth and happiness. It made his heart skip. Knowing she was happy—remembering someone who cared for her deeply. A time she was safe from the cruel hands that bound her. From the veil ofdarkness the realm and the male who raised him cast upon those with magic.
That smile did not fade even as Garrik taunted, “Adolescents,” and rolled his eyes. A flawless reflection of hers, knowing precisely what the gesture would cause.
As anticipated, she slapped his hip with the back of her hand. “Oh, come on. I’m sure you, Thalon, and Aiden had ridiculous adventures.”
Too many to count.
One memory surfaced. Garrik let out a sharp laugh, surprising himself at the honest sound that felt… strange.He did not care to question the feeling. “Indeed. Aiden once tricked Thalon into thinking he portaled a demon into his bedchamber.”
“How did you manage that?” She chuckled in disbelief, stifling a yawn and reminding him of the hour. Of how long they had laid there when it only felt like seconds.
To be honest, he never truly did believe it would have worked, but …
Garrik shrugged. “I illusioned his room to appear lightless. Every candle burned, but he could not see them. And Aiden had stuffed a black cloak with straw, hid it beside the corner where Thalon’s portal would most likely appear. Once Aiden goaded him enough to open the portal andsee what we could find, I withdrew my powers. The entire room ignited with light. Every candle burst to roaring flames—including the fireplace—as I controlled a shield to push the cloak in front of the portal, then used mind-magic to mimic the ghastly roar of some made-up creature.
