“What kind of gift would a Bard have, if not playing like that?”
“Anyone willing to devote the time and work can play an instrument,” he said. “I have been doing so for four hundred years, remember. What makes a Bard a Bard is the ability to influence emotion through music; to create a mood, or a vision, and thread it through the sound.”
Again, she stared. “You’re an empath.”
He met her eyes and smiled. “And you are a Bard.”
Since then, every few weeks when Kai visited, he found her in the music room while Nico was asleep, and they talked about their art. She introduced him to the idea of recording songs and played one of her albums to show him the difference between studio-produced and live. He brought her Elven sheet music, which was an art in itself—they illuminated their music, and the staffs were, as he’d said, vertical rather than horizontal. Elven musical vocabulary was full of plant metaphors—the words for different tempos were related to the speed at which a particular flower opened.
She found him oddly refreshing after dealing with so many vampires and their secret agendas. He had nothing to hide and wouldn’t have bothered if he had. Unlike most people his self-confidence wasn’t hiding insecurity. When he spoke of being talented, attractive, or popular, it was a simple statement of fact, as if it would never have occurred to the rest of the world not to admire him. Perhaps it was arrogance, but Miranda didn’t think that really described it. Kai was just…Kai. He completely inhabited his own identity.
She also got to hear him sing. His voice nearly undid her. It wasn’t just that it was beautiful; she’d heard plenty of lovely voices from talented singers. There was a quality there that was just not of this Earth—literally. The song was in Elvish, which might be part of it. Every time he heard Nico speak Elvish David had to take a cold shower.
After the song ended, Kai looked at her and frowned. “Are you all right?”
She stammered for a minute. “…amazing,” she got out. “You should sing something in English next.”
He smiled, and something in the expression said he found her sudden awkwardness endearing. “If you like.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask you—how did you learn English so fast? Yours is way better than Nico’s was when he first got here.”
Kai blinked. “I took it from his head,” he replied; to her mystified expression, he asked, “Do you not do that?”
“No, I think that’s probably a twin thing, or maybe an Elf thing. Although…David and I do share a lot of our abilities now. But we’ve never tried doing it on purpose.”
“Does he share your Bard’s gift?”
“Empathy? A little. Just enough to hurt—but he keeps it blocked unless he needs it for something. Since it’s fairly weak it’s easier to control.”
He looked thoughtful. “My gift has never hurt me,” he said. “Perhaps because the darkness and tragedy inherent to your world does not exist in Avilon.”
His tone surprised her. “And that’s not a good thing?”
Kai absently ran his fingers over the piano’s keys. “My kin would think me mad for saying so, but Nico and I have agreed that our lives there were good, and peaceful…but boring. There are only so many times one can play the same song. Our people cling to their peace so hard it has no space to grow, and so we stagnate. Long ago, we understood this, but after genocide and war we have willfully forgotten. Yet the truth of the universe remains: without darkness, light is meaningless.”
“Maybe so,” she replied, “But that darkness nearly destroyed me when I was still human. My gift ran wild and drove me mad, and I was already running out of time when…if David and I hadn’t met, and he hadn’t taught me to control it, I don’t think I would have survived.”
The Bard sighed, and said with mock irritation, “You must stop telling me things like that about your mate, or I will end up liking him in spite of myself.”
She laughed. “Oh, I think you already do, you just don’t want to admit it.”
A conspiratorial grin. “Of course I do. How could I not at least acknowledge a man who so obviously adores, admires, and respects both you and my brother? He is wise enough to know how blessed he is to call you his Queen; that, at the very least, I can appreciate.”
She knew, by how hot her face was, that she was blushing crimson, but thankfully he didn’t comment on it. He did, however, kiss her hand when he left, and she stood there unable to move for a minute, her skin tingling where his lips had touched.
Oh, hell.
That was two weeks ago; after that, Kai had gone home for the Harvest. She spent the next two weeks in a knot over her sudden and unwelcome attraction to the Elf until David called her on it the night Kai returned. When the Prime left for work, she stayed on her piano bench with her thoughts, trying to make sense out of them before she had to deal with the Bard.
She had, without really saying so, come to the understanding that one day David would have a lover. Whether it was Deven, or someone else, she had long felt a sense of inevitability about it—it was common in Pairs, though the romanticized legends about the Signets made it seem that they were exclusive for all eternity. Very few remained completely monogamous, but historically it was the result of adultery, not a polyamorous arrangement of equals. Over time, starting after that night with Deven and developing further after David’s crush on Olivia, Miranda had unconsciously come to accept the idea, but while that theoretically opened the door for her own pursuits, she hadn’t thought for a second that any such pursuits would ever exist. David, it seemed, saw right through her, just as she’d seen through him.
Thank God he’d brought it up, though, because she would have had no idea what to say.
Hey baby, you know that Elf you think is a stuck-up bastard? Well, turns out, not so much. In fact I kind of want to…
No.
Okay, so, you know how you get the hots for basically anything that moves these days? I guess you’re a bad influence, because…
No.
Hey, I was just thinking, you know what we’ve never done? Twins!
Oh lord.
She stuck her hands in her hair, trying not to pull it in aggravation. It was all so ridiculous. She had gone up against a dozen armed opponents at a time, recorded two platinum albums, learned how to operate not one but two psychic gifts, and overcome assault and murder—but give her a crush on a ridiculously attractive Elf, and she turned into a gibbering idiot. She’d been telling the truth when she told David she didn’t intend to shag the Bard, but Elves were sexually permissive — to put it mildly — so who knew what Kai was thinking?
There was a soft knock at the door, and she swallowed hard. “Come in!”
She knew who it was, of course—there was no mistaking the moonlit presence of an Elf in the room.
She turned, about to try out the Elvish greeting he’d taught her…and froze.
“Are you okay?”
Her gift, it turned out, was not necessary at the moment. Kai’s face was haunted, almost dazed with sadness; he sank down on the loveseat back against the wall, unspeaking.
She left the piano and sat down next to him, peering into his face with concern. “What happened…is it Nico?”
A vague nod.
“Tell me.”
He took a deep breath, grounding himself. “It was bad tonight,” he said softly. “The worst I have seen him. I could feel him losing heart…he fell into a shadow so deep I could barely sense his presence. Then he said…he said he wants to die. He has no more to give, and just wants rest. What am I to say to that?” He put his face in his hands for a moment before saying, “In all our years, I have never seen him like this. It was always my task to watch over him. Now all I can do is watch him die.”
“He is not going to die,” Miranda said firmly. “We’ll do whatever we have to—even if we have to bind him to us. We’ll find a way.”
“Can you do that?” he asked, frowning. “Wouldn’t that kill his Prime?”
“
I don’t mean separate them…I just wonder if there’s a way to link someone else to Nico to give him energy, like a temporary one-way bond.” It was one of the few ideas she’d had that didn’t immediately sound ridiculous. Miranda nodded to herself. “I’ll talk to Stella—she’s better acquainted with that sort of magic and by now I bet she’s strong enough. It might work.”
“You can use me,” Kai said, new determination in his voice. “We are already linked—widen that link and he can have all I can give him.”
Miranda smiled. “It’s really amazing how much you love your brother. I’ve never had a twin, but I had a sister, and…well, we definitely weren’t like you two.”
He looked a bit baffled. “How can you not be close? Blood binds to blood.”
“Yeah, not so much here. Maybe things were different back before people were so spread out, and they had to stay closer to each other to survive and thrive—we prize our individuality to a fault. Most families are pretty disconnected.”
“Your people are not,” Kai pointed out. “There is a deep and still growing connection among all eight of you, binding you more and more tightly.”
Miranda froze. “Eight? You can See eight?”
A blink. “Well, I do not have the level of Sight that Nico has, but empathically I can sense all eight of you, yes. Can you not?”
“No. I mean, I don’t think so…” Miranda turned her attention inward, seeking out along her bond to David, and from there slowly around the Circle: Deven, Nico, Cora, Jacob, Olivia, and…
“There’s someone there,” she said softly. “I mean, the bond hasn’t formed yet, but there’s definitely a person in that spot. That’s not how it was a year ago—it was a blank space then. He must be getting closer…I wonder if knowing that would make Olivia feel better or worse.”
She shook herself out of it and gave him an encouraging smile. “We’re going to save your brother. You have my word.”
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then smiled back. “I believe you.”
“Good. Let’s think about something else for now, then.”
She sat down on the piano bench, and a moment later he joined her, waiting expectantly for her to either play or talk about the song she wanted him to hear. She looked up at the sheet music. It was, all of a sudden, the last thing in the world she wanted to play.
“Is something wrong?” Kai asked, concerned. “You have a very odd look on your face.”
“Well…” Time to be an adult, she supposed. She shifted on the bench to face him. “I have to ask you something. I know you guys are pretty forward when it comes to…interpersonal relationships.”
“You mean sex.”
“Yes. See? We’re repressed, even when we’re not. But the thing is, I’m even worse at it than most people. I don’t know what to do when I’m attracted to someone. So I guess the best thing to do is just flat out—”
Kai sighed, and sounded somewhat weary as he asked, “Do you intend to take me to bed, Miranda?”
There she went again—her face became scalding hot. “Um…no. Not that I…in theory, I would, and could, but…no.”
He nodded. “That’s all I need to know.”
“You’re not going to try and change my mind?”
An eyebrow shot up. “Why would I do that? You said you’re not interested. Perhaps one day you will be, perhaps not. If you do, you will say so. I am your friend regardless, as long as that is amenable to you.”
She blinked for a second. “You know, you’re not like any man I’ve ever met.”
“That’s because, thank the Goddess, I am not a man,” he pointed out. “Now, the question I do have is this: We have in our friendship been affectionate with each other. That can change if it would make you more comfortable.”
“No, no—I don’t want anything to change, I just wanted to be honest.”
“I appreciate that honesty. Shall we then return to our musical pursuits?”
“Wait, there’s one more thing I want to know…how do you feel about this? What were you hoping for?”
“In our relationship?” He took a deep breath, which she could have interpreted a number of ways. “I find you deeply alluring, funny, kind…and of course beautiful in ways I had quite literally never seen. If you were ever to desire more than friendship I would be more than happy to oblige. Am I going to pine away for you, celibate and miserable? No. I am not a youngling given to fits of swooning. You need not worry, as I am sure you will, about hurting my feelings.”
Miranda sat blinking at him again for a minute. “Okay.”
When he saw her face, he started laughing—another thing she rarely saw. “You do realize you are not obligated to keep up with your husband, don’t you? Unless of course you have a scoreboard over your bed, in which case I must know how many points an Elf is worth.”
She punched his arm. “Shut up!”
Another laugh. Then, something in his expression changed, sobered; he stared down at the piano keys, and after a moment he said quietly, “He really does love Nico, doesn’t he.”
Miranda nodded. “Yes. Very much. Your brother completely blindsided him. Even I didn’t see it coming—I thought if anyone ever caught his heart it would be Deven again. I mean, of course he thought Nico was attractive, and they had a connection from the beginning. Nico needed to feel safe, and there’s nobody better for the job. Then one day I finally realized it was way more than that. Despite appearances David doesn’t open his heart to just anybody.”
“He would have to be made of sterner stuff than stone to avoid it, surrounded by such remarkable creatures,” Kai observed. “And clearly the feeling is mutual. Even with his sorrow and weakness, when Nico speaks of him, a light returns to his eyes I had feared would never spark again.”
Miranda smiled. “That’s pretty much what happened to me.”
Their eyes met for a moment, and thank God, the awkwardness Miranda had been feeling was gone; they could get back to what they both needed, friendship, without her being in a twist every time their hands touched.
“Shall we, then?” Kai asked.
The Queen nodded. “We shall.” She hiked her leg back over the bench to face the piano, and picked up the sheet music she’d had waiting there. “I wanted you to see this piece—it’s a duet I did with another musician a while back, but we did some interesting things with the harmonies…”
Chapter Three
By the time dawn arrived, Nico had fought his way through five more pages of the Codex, and his head hurt so badly he wanted to scream.
He barely heard the knock, but what few people ever came to see him were always welcome, so it opened and closed without his having to look up from the book’s swiftly-blurring pages.
There were the usual sounds of someone taking off a jacket. Nico looked up and offered a smile. “Back safely, I see.”
Stella grinned. She tossed her hooded sweater on a chair then paused on the side of the bed to pull off her rather enormous black boots, revealing striped knee-high socks that matched her fingernails. Then she slid around behind him and rubbed his shoulders, eliciting a sigh. “Glad to be back, actually. I love my dad, but all the questions are getting old. When are you moving back to Austin? What about college? A job? A boyfriend?”
“Did you tell him you’re sleeping with a vampire Elf who’s been teaching you magic?”
A giggle. “Maybe I should—he’d probably stop asking then.”
Nico closed his eyes. “Even though it isn’t really true.”
“It is true! We are, literally, sleeping together, and you were teaching me magic. You will again soon.”
He tried to agree with her, but all he could get out was, “I hope so.” Hoping to change the subject, he asked, “How is Lark?”
“She’s doing great, actually. Foxglove promoted her to manager of the store, and she met a girl at the last Full Moon potluck—a geology teaching assistant at the university. Lark’s even writing again. She says hi, by the way.”
“Anything good tonight?” she asked, indicating the Codex with one foot.
“Actually, yes…I seem to have finally reached the part of the book that is relevant to our current situation. This, for example, is the beginning of the story of the original Circle. There appear to be three separate accounts, but I could only read one of them. That first coven was led by two of what we would call Thirdborn, though they weren’t named as such. It’s hard to say exactly what made them different besides being stronger—the text alludes to other qualities that set them apart, but it’s not specific, at least not yet. They aren’t named, but the author of the story, Galatea, was one of the Circle’s Primes, and her Consort was named Cybele.”
“Galatea…you mean they were both women?”
“They were.”
“I’ll be damned,” Stella said, a smile in her voice. “So it’s not as novel as we thought. You should tell…”
She trailed off, and he had to smile a little himself at that despite the ache it caused in his chest. “You can say his name, you know,” Nico told her. “David does the same thing—like it’s a secret invocation.”
Stella laughed and kissed his ear. “It’s more like Voldemort at this point.”
“Who?”
“Never mind. Anything else interesting?”
“There’s a ritual…” He held the Codex at an angle so she could see it and turned to a page covered in a complicated diagram of circles and spirals. Like everything in the Codex it had an Elvish feel to it, but was still distinctly its own creature. “When the entire Circle is complete, they can then dedicate a room—one in each Haven if they like—to communicating with Persephone. All eight together have to consecrate it, but after that any can use it alone or in groups. I just got to the instructions tonight, but I was too tired to continue.”
Shadowstorm (The Shadow World Book 6) Page 6