Page 35 of Dragons of the Great Wyves: Fire and Song
My fingers still pressed the keys of the last chord. The harmonics faded from the strings. Georgiana’s whitened fingers clenched the edge of the pianoforte, supporting her deep gasps.
“Did you see that?” I cried. “See the music itself? I always see music, that is… ordinary, but to feel its shape and see the shapes build—” I shook my head, annoyed by my own rambling.
“Fènnù came,” Georgiana breathed. “We called her.”
“She spoke,” I said. “She thought we were separating her from Lizzy.”
“I heard her as music. Celestial music.” Georgiana drew a long, disciplined breath. Her hand, steady now, clasped mine. “Mary, we did thattogether.”
“The power was incredible…” I murmured.
Not Fènnù’s strength, massive though that was. What shocked me was the power in that castle of song. Emotion, clarified to perfection. It mocked the doubts that circled my heart. Was my home Longbourn or Pemberley? Were Mr. Darcy’s promises a rich man’s whimsy, cast in a fire as casually as they were inked? Was I wrong to accept them? Was I worthy of them?
“Ifelt powerful,” I admitted. Those words felt scandalous.Wonderful.
Georgiana’s fingers squeezed mine. Her smile was strained but happy. “Youarepowerful. Have I not told you so, over and over?”
While we stared at each other, a little dazed, a maid announced that Mr. Digweed and the Pemberley farming directors had arrived. After a few settling breaths, we set out to the other wing to meet them.
But I had not gone ten steps before more ideas poured out. “Fènnù heard us because this is her song.” I waved the sheet of music; in my excitement, I had brought it along. “And it is a third of the great song! That was the musical shape we saw forming, incomplete without the other two dragon songs. That is what those ancient great wyves were doing, assembling the great song so they could heal it with the artifacts.” Another connection formed. “Would that heal the blight?”
“The blight and the broken song are the same,” Georgiana said, which sounded like agreement to me.
I was bubbling like a child, and more words flooded. “All we need now are the other two artifacts, and the other two songs, and all three dragons.” I frowned, thinking through details. “And they may need to be bound.”
“Is that all?” Georgiana echoed mildly.
I caught her arms, stopping us so sharply the carpet runner under our slippers skidded. “We can heal the song. For the first time, I believe it.”
“You say ‘three dragons’ just like that. There is no sign of a third dragon.”
Why did she not see? “But it is so obvious. Three artifacts. Three wyves. Three melodies that form a great song.”
“It is a pretty solution,” she said softly. “A neat structure. I understand why you like it.”
That sounded less than enthusiastic. “You doubt it?”
“No, I saw it too. But the blight remains. And Fènnù fought the song. I have never heard her music so clearly.” Her brow pinched. “Did you feel how strong she was?”
“Did you feel how strongwewere?” That left me giddy. Foolishly, I spun, arms waving at the luxurious wainscotting and windows and grounds while half-formed thoughts sprayed out. “You grew up in this. You cannot understand how I feel. All my life, I wanted tobesomething. To be worth something. To be anything other than the plain, peculiar sister, eclipsed in beauty and wit.” My laugh came out slightly manic. “Now, when I am literally surrounded by women from legend, at last I feel like I belong. Like I have power.”
“That makes me happy,” Georgiana said. She touched my cheek, her fingertipsrippling like a rolled chord. “But you should feel that way already. You are so exceptional. Look at your compositions. Look at what your Marys achieve in London.”
“That is all… mundane.Thisis incredible.”
She cradled my cheek, and—briefly—I imagined she looked uneasy.
13
DISCOVERIES
MARY
That afternoon,the sun spilling through the observatory windows painted the room an angry orange. The Pemberley inspections had found three infested fields. Two were burning. Already, bitter smoke stained the sky, and our meeting with the neighboring landholders was still to come.
“Mary?” Georgiana called from the doorway. “We have been looking for you.”
Distracted by the microscope, I muttered inarticulate syllables.
