Wildwood Larkwing (Silver and Orchids Book 3)

by Shari L. Tapscott

  Though the magic is gone, we still reek.

  “You should take her home,” the tailor says, turning to Adeline.

  Of all days to leave the carriage behind.

  “Do you mind carrying her to the stable?” I say to the handsome man holding my friend. “I hate to ask.”

  He glances at her and gives her a dimpled smile. “Not in the least, but why don’t you take my family’s carriage?”

  Oh, wait until I tell her about this.

  “We would be so appreciative,” I tell him.

  In just a few minutes, the man who I learn is named Curtis deposits Adeline into the waiting carriage. After he sets her on the velveteen seat, he brushes a few stray curls away from her face, seeming reluctant to leave her.

  “You should come with us,” I say, my voice dry. “It’s your carriage after all.”

  Curtis glances at me, looking a bit embarrassed. But not embarrassed enough to decline. “You’ll need someone to carry her out when you reach your destination.”

  “Naturally.”

  He sits next to the seamstress. Weary, knowing Sebastian is going to yell at me, I boot Flink into the carriage and crawl over him to the bench opposite Adeline and her new admirer.

  I realize as soon as we’re going down the road that I might have made a great error in judgment—what if the silversmith was in on the ruse? We would have been trapped with no way to escape.

  Fortunately, Curtis is simply a helpful bystander. We roll over the drawbridge, under the portcullis, and make our way through the buildings to the castle’s main courtyard.

  I’m growing concerned, though. I fully expected Adeline to wake by now, but she’s still unconscious.

  “Do you mind carrying her in?” I ask Curtis, though I already know the answer.

  He once again pulls Adeline into his arms with relish. He doesn’t even seem to mind the sickly-sweet stink of Dante’s concoction.

  Courtiers and the castle staff all gasp when they see us exit the carriage, and the commotion is just enough to finally bring Adeline to her senses. She blinks, groans softly, and then freezes when she meets Curtis’s gaze.

  “Hello,” he murmurs.

  All she can manage is a tiny peep.

  Then she shudders, probably remembering why she passed out. “Lucia,” she says and then frantically turns her head, looking for me.

  “I’m here,” I assure her as we make our way inside the massive double doors.

  “What was it he covered us in?”

  “I don’t really want to talk about it,” I say, shuddering.

  She thinks about it a moment, shivers herself, and then nods.

  We finally reach the main foyer, pressing our way through dozens of people—they just keep gathering. News travels quickly for such a large castle, and in only moments, Avery and Sebastian come running from the throne room, throwing open the doors like dashing heroes of old.

  Sebastian takes one look at Curtis, and his expression goes to stone. But Avery only has eyes for me. He pushes people aside without as much as an “excuse me,” and then he roughly takes me by the shoulders, scowling as he looks me over. “What happened to you?”

  “Dante.”

  The captain’s eyes go hard, and his eyebrows draw low. “Did he hurt you?”

  I give him a small, cocky smile. “Please—he never caught us.”

  That breaks through his stormy exterior, and he shakes his head, laughing under his breath.

  Shortly after Sebastian and Avery’s grand entrance, the king and queen walk through the doors. The crowds part, giving them room to pass.

  Harold looks shocked, but Minerva wears a repulsed look on her face. She motions her hand over my stained outfit. “What is that?”

  “Some sort of butterfly bait,” I tell her.

  “But why…?” She looks at me as if I purposely doused myself in the stuff.

  I am happy to say I am smart enough to keep my mouth shut. Even I know it’s a bad idea to sass the queen.

  “Take Adeline to the infirmary,” Harold says, and then he frowns at me. “Lady Lucia, do you need medical attention as well?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Then come with me, all of you.” With that, His Majesty turns on his heel and returns to his throne room.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Disappearing Dragon

  I shove another dress in my trunk and then sit on it when it won’t latch. I huff out a breath, feeling rather melancholy.

  Our audience with King Harold didn’t go quite the way I expected. We were thanked for the information, and then politely told to leave the mess to the royal guards, asked to travel into one of the other provinces where it’s safe. Apparently, the king is concerned about the man who visited him while we were in Fermall—one of Dante’s lackeys, no doubt. He’s been back several times, but Harold refused to give him any information on my whereabouts.

  Queen Minerva told Avery that he, of course, was welcome to stay. I have no idea what he’ll do. Probably head back to sea.

  After fully laying on the trunk, sprawled out on my belly like a cat in the sun, I’m finally able to snap the latch closed. I lie here, legs dangling, feet and calves resting on the floor, feeling melancholy.

  We’ve never left a job feeling so unfinished. What happens now? Is Serena safe? Will Dante come after us anyway? Surely, he won’t let us go—we know too much.

  Flink shuffles around the room, copper-scaled tail dragging on the floor, sniffing about like a pig. He’s bored of Teirn, and I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t want a lead snapped on me every time I left my room either. He needs to stretch his legs and tiny flightless wings, get some fresh air.

  Maybe that’s what I need too. I let my head dangle toward the floor, not bothering to move even when a knock sounds on my door.

  “It’s open,” I call from my precarious perch on the trunk.

  Adeline pokes her head in the room. Knowing me as she does, she doesn’t even give me a strange look when she spots me. “Sebastian says a boy will be up for the trunks in a few minutes. Have you packed everything?”

  “Mmmhmm,” I hum.

  She waits a moment and then steps into the room, shutting the door behind her. “Are you all right?”

  “Mmmhmm.”

  Kneeling in front of me, letting her long goldenrod skirts pool on the floor around her, she meets my eyes. “Have you talked to him?”

  “Dante? No, I think we’ve had plenty of closure.”

  Adeline gives me a wry smile. “Avery.”

  Just his name makes my stomach churn.

  “About what?” I ask, purposely being obtuse.

  “You know what.” She frowns. “Will you sit up? I feel like I’m having a conversation with a squirrel. And isn’t all the blood rushing to your head? That can’t be comfortable.”

  I puff out my cheeks and slowly exhale as I slide off the trunk and plop onto the floor, crossing my legs like a child. Adeline shakes her head. “You’re a mess over him, aren’t you?”

  “No,” I lie.

  “So, it won’t bother you at all that King Harold is going to send him to Marlane to retrieve a shipment of gold from the island mine?”

  My jaw twitches, and the air whooshes from my lungs, making me feel as if the wind was knocked right out of me.

  Gently, she says, “The king just asked him to go. I was there, speaking with Minerva, so I’m afraid I overheard.”

  “What was his answer?”

  Adeline’s face softened. “He sent a courier with a message to prepare his crew.”

  The news is a blow to my heart, and it takes me a moment to process it.

  “He’s scared, Lucia,” she insists, refusing to leave me alone. “And so are you. It’s the most ridiculous thing—both of you are big, brave adventurers, and yet you cannot admit that you love each other.”

  She looks like she wants to go on—try to make me talk about my feelings of all things, but the captain himself knocks once and then walk
s in the room.

  Trying to keep things light though I feel like I’m floundering, I raise an eyebrow. “What if I’d been indecent?”

  A swift smile flashes across his face. “I would have forgiven you.”

  Adeline stands quickly, giving me a stern look as she makes her way to the door. “Captain Greybrow, Lucia was just telling me she needed to speak with you.”

  Once again, my companions had all better be glad I don’t know magic, because Adeline would get a taste of it right now. I give her a hard smile as I imagine a little black rain cloud sprouting up over her head, raining all over her silk and velvet gown, making her perfect curls frizzy.

  She frowns at me from behind Avery and hurries into the hall. I stare at the closed door for several moments before I finally let my eyes stray to the captain.

  He settles against the wall, crossing his arms and boot-clad feet, watching me expectantly. My heart goes a few degrees cooler when I notice he’s wearing his captain’s jacket.

  “You seem to have healed well.” I don’t quite meet his eyes, and I busy myself with a few remaining trinkets on the dressing table—which is a mistake, because the last of them is Flink’s gold ball. There are so many memories there. I fumble it, and the ball falls to the floor, much to Flink’s delight.

  It’s the strangest thing; when Sebastian rejected me, I felt intense sadness. I hurt for days. But the thought of Avery leaving—it’s not the same. Instead of a sharp, painful moment that heals after the initial shock, this is a burning sensation in my core—a slow, gnawing wound that feels as if it will consume me before it dies out.

  “I feel fine,” he answers.

  I nod. “Good.”

  Silence.

  “Lucia…”

  That’s all he says, just my name. I ignore him for a moment, and then I look back. “What?”

  “Sebastian says you are headed back to Reginae to get Adeline settled in Uncle Selden’s shoppe.”

  And here I am, nodding again. I wait for Avery to volunteer something, but he’s unusually tight-lipped.

  “And I understand you are sailing to Marlane?” I finally say, unable to stop myself. And, oh, the words come out very bitter.

  He glances at the door Adeline just exited through. “I—”

  “I’m sure the pay is good.” I turn away, but I look at him over my shoulder. “Perhaps even better than the illegal Lark and Song business.”

  “You said you loved me,” he says bluntly. When I whip back to him, he crosses his arms. His eyes are guarded, but he holds his ground. “At the masquerade. Did you mean it? Or was it the elixir?”

  Fear—real, true fear slices right through. Things still aren’t the same between Sebastian and me—they most likely never will be, and we have years and years of history knitting us together. What if I admit my feelings, hand Avery my heart, and he doesn’t want it? I know that he said he did, but how much was real? How much was the magic of the island, making him think he felt things he didn’t actually feel?

  I wait too long to answer, or perhaps he misinterprets the panic on my face. He pushes away from the wall and walks right for me. But what breaks my heart is the way he hides away anything he might be feeling behind his roguish smile. It’s fake; I know it is. Know it like I know my own heart.

  “Tell me the truth—how much will you miss me when I’m gone?” he asks, pretending he never spoke his last words. “Will you pine for me, perhaps write poetry in your journal, count the days until I return?”

  He’s making light of the moment, sweeping it under the rug…trying to take it back. I have no idea how to decipher his actions.

  The simple truth is, whatever happened between us was real on the island. Real. But that was a different a time, a different life.

  What does location matter? a desperate voice whispers in my head. Love is love.

  But love ruins everything. It makes things awkward and painful and sad—just look at Sebastian and me.

  Yet, something deep down tells me it can be brilliant—blindingly beautiful. And maybe, just maybe, Avery and I have a chance at that. But if one of us doesn’t fess up…then it dies—becomes a regret, a painful “what if.”

  A sad little trinket in the jewelry box of your memory that’s too painful to take out, but sometimes you do anyway, just because you cannot let yourself forget.

  And I can’t have that. I will be brave.

  I open my mouth to confess how I feel, my skin all prickly with nerves, when yet another knock sounds at the door. “Lady Lucia?” a boy calls through the thick wood. “We’re here to collect your trunk.”

  And then it happens so fast. Avery moves aside, opening the door for the group of boys who have come for my things, and steps into the hall. With a cocky jerk of his chin and crooked grin, he turns back to look at me from the doorway. “Keep out of trouble while I’m away, Lady Adventuress.”

  Exasperated, I shake my head, trying to see past the young men hauling about my things. “Avery—”

  “That’s a girl—no more of this ‘captain’ nonsense.”

  The boys seem to be everywhere, all at once. And when did I collect this much stuff? It takes several moments, but finally, they leave. Luckily, Avery’s still at the door. Maybe he’s not quite so eager to go after all.

  “Don’t leave like this,” I say.

  His facade flickers for a moment, and his next words sound sincere. “Go with your business partner, Lucia. Take care of Adeline. I’ll give you some breathing room, but I will find you again—and that’s a promise. This isn’t over.”

  I cross my arms, growing angry. “Are you really doing this? Isn’t it a bit dramatic, even for you?”

  “Possibly. But I like it when you chase after me.” With a wink and that awful grin I’ve come to love so much, he closes the door, making his grand exit.

  I groan, irritated with him—irritated with myself. What’s wrong with us? My gut tells me he loves me…well, I’m almost eighty-percent certain. Adeline was right—the captain is scared. He’s just as pathetic as I am.

  And it is insane—completely mad—that two reasonably logical adults can act this way.

  But can I run after him? Oh, no. Not after he said that!

  I growl into my hands and then smack the door. I can be the bigger person—I will not let my pride be our undoing. “Fine!” I yell at the door. “You win!”

  With the full intention of running after the captain, just like he wants, I turn to grab Flink’s lead. But then I stop. I twirl in a full circle, growing nervous.

  “Flink?” I call. “Flink!” I rip apart the room, even checking in places that are too small for him to disappear into.

  The dragon’s gone. Where did he go? When did he leave? He must have slipped out with my trunks.

  But discarded, on the ground, lies his golden ball. He never gives it up, not unless I trade him for food. Dread builds in my belly, and the sensation becomes full-out fear. He’d never leave without the ball, not unless someone baited him.

  Someone took Flink.

  I go tearing into the hall, praying I’m wrong. If I am, the copper-colored reptile is about to get a very strongly-worded lecture about wandering off. But I don’t find the dragon. Instead, I spot a man who looks like a respectable captain but swaggers like a pirate.

  “Avery!”

  The captain turns back, grinning. “To tell you the truth, I thought it would take a little longer.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Breaking and Entering

  “He’s gone!” I holler to Avery, nearly tripping on a rug as I jog after him.

  “Who’s gone?”

  “Flink.” Breathless, I come to a stop in front of him, my insides knotting with apprehension. “Dante took him, I’m sure of it.”

  The captain looks bewildered, and he cocks his head ever so slightly to the side. “Dante…took your dragon?”

  I don’t like the incredulous look he’s giving me. “Yes!”

  “Why would he do that
?”

  “I don’t know—but you should have seen how he looked at Flink when he saw him neutralize his potion. He wants him.”

  Avery frowns, looking a bit like a person would before they’re about to patronize a small child with a vivid imagination. “Lucia, Flink hasn’t exactly been a model pet—”

  “Are you trying to tell me he took himself on a walk? Clipped his lead to his harness?”

  The captain’s certainty flickers, but he’s still not swayed. “Maybe you misplaced—”

  Growling in frustration, I stalk away from him.

  “Where are you going?” Avery calls to me.

  I look over my shoulder and pin him with my glare. “To find Sebastian. He’ll believe me.”

  It’s a low blow, and I almost feel guilty about the wicked satisfaction I get from the irritation that crosses his face. Almost.

  “Lucia, stop.”

  Ignoring him, I continue down the hall.

  “I’ll help you look for him.” He has to jog to catch up with me.

  I shoot him another venomous look. “Don’t you have a ship to captain?”

  He stops me with a soft hand on my shoulder, forcing me to stop. When I refuse to look at him, he takes my chin and tilts it toward him, making me meet his eyes. “Now listen—though I don’t think Dante stole Flink, I know the dragon is important to you. Therefore, the dragon is important to me. I will help you find him.”

  “I thought you were leaving.”

  “And I thought you were going back to Reginae.”

  We stare at each other for several moments, neither of us yielding…but neither of us walking away either.

  “Perhaps we should check your ship first,” I finally say, giving in. “Just in case he wandered that way again.”

  “Let’s find Sebastian and Adeline, let them know he’s missing. They can look for him as well.”

  I nod, and to my horror, my eyes begin to sting.

  Avery makes a soft, slightly amused noise, and yanks me to him, crushing me to his chest. “Look at you, hardened Lady Siren Slayer, all weepy over a missing dragon.”