Page 58 of Of Songs and Silence

I glance from him to Ari, my heartbeat picking up speed.

Part of me wants to deny that it’s his concern, but even if he weren’t in charge of keeping me safe, I know perfectly well how I felt mere moments ago when I thought he was visiting someone else in the village.

So I keep my thoughts to myself.

There’s a gentle prodding at my shields, and I slowly take them down until an image comes into my mind. Unlike the fuzzy vision I got from my aunt, this one is clear, perhaps because it’s so much more recent.

Longing shoots through me.

Aika is as fierce as ever, but I wonder if I imagine the tired lines on her skin. Still, she smirks, and the man at her side mirrors the expression. There’s what looks to be a furry tail wrapped around her wrist, but whatever animal it belongs to is tucked out of sight in her sleeve.

Then comes Zaina, so beautiful it almost hurts to look at her. She stands behind a massive white…tiger? Cat-dragon, Kane calls it. A giant of a man guards her back, nearly the size of the Mayima.

I watch as my sisters argue—predictably—then as Zaina stares down a Mayima twice her size and threatens him with the very creature that nearly killed her—the dragons. Her features are carved into an icy determination, her eyes flooded with rage.

It would be terrifying, if it was directed at me rather than on my behalf.

As it stands, I never thought I would see the day where Aika was the more mild of the two. Then again, Aika hasn’t lost a sister yet.

Stars, how I miss them both.

“Thank you,” I say quietly when it’s over.

Kane nods, excusing himself, but I barely hear him; all I can think about are my sister's faces. Their words. Their plan.

Ari doesn’t leave my side, his concerned gaze searching my features. I want to reassure him, but I still can’t wrap my head around what I’ve seen. They’re going to Delphine.

And they’re going to kill my mother.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR

MELODI

When enough time passes that Ari is forced to retreat into the hallway, I still have not come to terms with the emotions running rampant through my mind.

Isn’t this what I wanted? For someone to take Mother down? To stop her cruelty and sever the hold she has on us?

I remember the image of her, bright and happy and in love. It doesn’t change anything, doesn’t begin to undo the things that she has done. She needs to be stopped.

A knife twists in my gut all the same.

Is it for her? Or because I worry that whatever is left of my sisters’ souls will go when she does?

When Moli comes to dress me for dinner, I don’t have any answers.

She quietly drapes me in an outfit made of golden scales, shells, and jewels. A gilded crown rests on my head, and bracelets adorn my upper arms and wrists.

Moli is always competent, but she seems even more determined to make me perfect tonight, taking time to twist each of my curls into submission and adorning me with make-up for a change.

She gently applies ink to my eyelids like the kohl we use on land, then crushes red flowers to paint my lips and stain my cheeks. Something niggles at the back of my mind as we go through the steps.

Tonight is different somehow. I am being plucked and painted for more than one of the usual court dinners.

Once I’m ready, I meet Ari in the hall. His expression shutters as he takes me in. Warmth pools low in my stomach and that invisible thread between us pulls taut.

Shaking the feeling away, I regain my senses and stuff the thoughts deep down in the recesses of my mind. He tenses and does the same, keeping his shields tight as he stoically leads me to the dining hall.

When we arrive, the doors are shut. Just before the guards open them, the chilling sound of a gong rings out, vibrating the water around us.

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