Page 83 of Unraveling Fate

“No, I can’t.” Her eyes slid to Harriet’s portrait. “I’m glad to see you too, Thomas.” She shook her shoulders back. “Besides, I said I’d sing in Opera Night, and I don’t like going back on my word.”

“Come,” he beckoned her to the piano bench. “Let’s start with one of your pieces for that evening, to help you relax before we try Spinning.”

Cadenza sat but didn’t open her music and Thomas didn’t need any special sight to read the turmoil in her face.

Well. Hehadtold her at the beginning she’d be better off without Taran. There were other young men, even without a trip to Italy. Take Canon, for instance. He had a few things to learn, to be sure, but he had so much potential. Canon was inordinately fond of Cadenza, and they had much in common. Even with gaps in his sight, Thomas’s gift of prophecy showed him the possibility of Cadenza and Canon doing great things together.

And if she chose Canon, Thomas could keep them both in his life. Since Harriet’s murder, he’d not allowed himself to care. He didn’t see the point. But working with Cadenza—and Canon, even when he vexed Thomas—he’d begun to understand why people brought children into their lives. And the Norroways wanted to take that from him as well.

But perhaps the curse wasn’t the only thing troubling her. “Unless you have a question first?” he asked.

She nodded slowly. “Drostan doesn’t seem to want to talk about this, but evenifI can learn to Spin, andifI used that for the Fates, the earth will still run out of song if we don’t find a new Crown to connect to the sun, right?”

“That’s the theory.” Thomas looked away. He knew where she was going with this.

“Isn’t it your job to find the Crown?”

Thomas laid his glasses aside and rubbed his eyes. Canon had broached the same subject that morning. But they were both too young to understand. Their lives, thus far, had been brief. Their loves brief. Their losses brief.

In his world, in this life, love rooted more deeply in the soul. Loss lasted.

Even if it meant neglecting his duty, he’d not actively seek out someone to subject to this life. Especially not someone he cared about.

He touched Harriet’s portrait, giving an easier excuse. “No point in doing my job if the Guardians don’t do theirs.”

“Funny,” Cadenza arched an eyebrow. “Drostan said something similar about you.”

Thomas raised an eyebrow in return. “I imagine he did. Shall we get to work?”

Twenty

17 Sep 2019

One night till we steal the oracle. Not where I thought I’d be three weeks ago.

The A/C was on too high, and Cadenza rubbed the goosebumps pricking her skin. The crowd of potential donors at Canon’s fundraiser was so large the facilities manager had cranked up the cold air to compensate. The hum of voices reached her backstage, competing with the crystal chimes of the marble flooring.

After two days of near non-stop rehearsal—earthsong, actual songs, hours with Thomas trying to Spin, still unsuccessfully, logistics for Ruairi and Cyrus’s arrival tonight—her eyes burned with exhaustion, but she saw the irony of her situation all the same.

Here she was, about to sing at the gig that ensured she had enough money in the bank to pay for everything she needed for Venice.

But there was nothing to pay for. Not anymore.

Her nostrils flared. Every time—Every time!—she’d thought she’d had it wrapped up, something had happened. Norroway Auto and the country club would have covered her plane ticket. And then her mother wanted more money, and sooner. She decided to sell her car. It blew up.Canon pays me, in advance, and I finally have all the money. Then there’s no part.

Every time.

She stamped her foot, glad no one else was there to see it.The Fates can be as bossy as they want. I’m not caving in to their plans.Tomorrow night they’d steal the oracles. Thomas would be heartbroken at her betrayal—he’d been so pleased to see her again yesterday, in his own, eccentric way—but it beat kidnapping him and having Taran kill him. They’d get an answer, break Taran’s curse. Then all she had to do after that was conquer Spinning, and she and Taran could live a normal life.

She rolled her eyes at the blithe idea.Yeah, that’s all.

A text buzzed on her phone.Landed fine. Met up with ride. Be there soon.

Her shoulders relaxed a touch. Canon’s team was picking up Ruairi and Cyrus at the San Francisco airport and bringing them here, so they could ride back to Sonora with her and Reyna. At least that seemed to be going smoothly.

On stage, Canon finished delivering his speech to enthusiastic applause, then introduced her. Cadenza filled her lungs, blew it out, visualized snuggling with Taran and eating turtle chocolates to calm the fluttering in her belly, and stepped into the spotlight.

From his vantagepoint at the side of the stage, Canon drank in the audience’s reaction to Cadenza’s performance of Verdi’s “ÉStrano, É Strano.” Everything was running smoothly, but something itched at the back of his mind. He’d yet to receive confirmation that Vasilios had fired the people in charge of sweeping the balcony at the debate. Which was odd. When Vasilios wanted something done, it got done.