Page 30 of Surfaces
“And make sure Gita and Humberto ride together.”
“Got it. I believe my cousin’s scheduled to ride with you in your carriage, if that’s okay?”
I’d intended to do my best to meet more men, but Felipe’s words erased any thoughts of that. I clasped my hands together demurely but a huge smile lit my face. “Yes, I suppose that would be acceptable.”
I was dying to spend time alone with Mateo. And like always, Felipe seemed to know just what I wanted.
If only I knew what it was he wanted in return.
9
“Areyou sure you just don’t want to admit that you’re a bit of an asshole?” Lizza’s question cut like a sword. Her face was skeptical after I’d told her all of my strange and violent visions yesterday.
I ground my teeth and fiddled with the edge of my silk dressing gown because there wasn’t much I could say to argue with that. Nothing she’d believe anyway. “It just wasn’t normal, that’s what I mean. I feel fury, yes. But I don’t have the urge to slaughter people regularly.”
“Really? Because I’d say I get the urge at least once a week.”
“I had it multiple times over a few hours.”
“It’s not—”
“If you dare ask if it’s my monthly courses, I’ll have Felipe come in here and … and …” I had no idea what might scare off the old undead bat.
“And what? String up my innards? Isn’t that what you say is your problem?” Lizza chuckled as she scratched at her rotting cheek and a bit of skin flaked off and floated away, revealing a tendon or something underneath.
I quickly averted my eyes as I pleaded, “Please. I need your help to try those spells you mentioned to keep my humanity intact while I access my power.”
She grunted. “Alright. Have you tried at all yet?”
I swallowed. “Um. No. I thought I should wait since it’s dangerous.”
With a wave of her hand, the undead witch dismissed my concerns. “Meh, creating a little wave won’t do much. Give it a quick try, just so I can see what I’m working with.”
I froze, startled, not expecting that response at all. My stomach clenched and my thumbs dug into the cuticles of my pinky fingers nervously. She wanted me to try now? This very moment? It was easy for her to risk, she wasn’t the one worried about becoming a violent beast. Though, I supposed, she’d be on the receiving end of things if I did try. I glanced quickly at the door of my bedchamber. It was firmly closed, though I knew Ugo and Felipe guarded it. Sounds drifted from the hallway as servants packed up and got us ready to leave Mayor Deacon’s home.
I turned back to Lizza and swallowed the lump in my throat. I plucked up my frail strands of courage and gathered them into a bouquet.You can do this, Avia. It’s just a simple test.“Okay. How?”
She laughed dismissively, the sound a loud frog-croak. “It’s your magic, girl. Reach inside.”
Reach inside!? That was it? Gah! This seemed like an exercise in futility.Wouldn’t I have felt my magic after the spell?
I hadn’t felt anything—just fear and a bit of sadness. Maybe a bit of rage. But magic? I hadn’t felt anything out of the ordinary.
I closed my eyes and tried not to let the million thoughts going through my mind distract me, especially not the one that grumbled curses in Lizza’s direction. Slowly, they drifted away, like flotsam on a wave.
Magic. I’d never had it before.
What would it feel like? A tickle inside my stomach? Or more of a buzz? Would it have an actual sensation at all or would it be more of a visual thing … an undulating orb of blue light, for instance?
When I found it, my magic was none of those things.
It was a song.
A female voice sang softly inside my head. She used no words, only sounds, but the haunting quality of her voice raised goosebumps on my arms. As soon as I noticed the music, the song grew louder, as if it had always been there, just waiting for an audience.
I listened for a moment to the pattern, the rise and fall of the voice. The notes went up, up, up, crested in a trill of the tongue, then crashed down like a wave, falling quickly. The pattern repeated multiple times in a soothing melody. I found myself relaxing as I listened to the voice, my muscles loosening, hands falling limp. I began to breathe with the voice, between notes, and suddenly I didn’t just hear the voice, I felt the reverberations of magic inside my chest as if I were the one singing. My mouth opened and while the song didn’t erupt from my lips, they moved silently in concert with it.
What was this song? Was this the voice of the sea herself?
