By the Morning Light_Smoke and Mirrors Read online

  I blushed under Aurora’s scrutinizing gaze. She was probably wondering how a scrawny mouse like me could ever consider myself a Knight. “We’re squires right now—we don’t officially become Knights until we’re eighteen, and you have to pass an intense test first, but we’re both hoping someday…”

  Aeonia was studying a blue flower intently. “Why?”

  I cocked my head. “Why what?”

  “Why do you want to be Knights?”

  Emile spoke up for the both us. “To protect Ayres. To make sure the magic doesn’t come back and harm anyone else.”

  Aeonia’s grip on the flower tightened. “So… You hate magic, then?”

  Hate was a strong word, especially for my brother who seemed incapable of hating anything. But what about me? Did I hate magic?

  I hated the bloodshed and terror it had brought into this world. I hated how it had corrupted the magicians and destroyed the dragons. But magic wasn’t something I would ever encounter in my life, so how could I possibly hate it? I could be wary of it, yes, but I wasn’t like Michel. When we gathered in the castle and he gave his speeches to the younger kids, he talked about hunting down magicians and eradicating them. He spoke as if magic still existed and we came in contact with it on a daily basis. But we didn’t. Not here in Ayres. Did Michel plan on crossing the ocean to the east or the fields in the west and venturing into other cities looking for magic? I’d asked Emile about it, but he was as clueless as I was.

  So why did I want to become a Knight? It was like Emile said; I wanted to protect my home, my city, my people. I said as much to Aeonia and she smiled sadly. “So then you should join the police, not the Knights. They’re an archaic, wretched bunch.”

  I bristled. How dare she speak about the Knights that way! I was about to hotly protest when Emile asked, “How do you know about the Knights? Have you been here before?”

  “We came this way nine years ago and I was too young to remember this city, but that’s not what I meant,” Aeonia said. “Each city we’ve traveled to has their own Knights. They call them different things—hunters, avengers, peacekeepers—but it’s always the same. They think they’re heroes, but they’re just a bunch of fools swinging swords around.”

  I jumped to my feet, my crown of flowers toppling off my head and landing in Aeonia’s lap. She looked up, surprised. Then she saw the anger on my face and she leaned back and nodded, like she expected me to start yelling at her.

  I took a deep breath—

  “I knew I’d find you two here.” I whirled around at the sound of a new voice. Behind me, Emile gave a little gasp of surprise.

  It was Michel.

  Chapter Five

  Michel strolled into the clearing flanked by a group of boys and girls from the castle. Of course. Michel never went anywhere alone; he thrived on having an audience. It irked me to no end, which is why I ended up blurting out, “What are you doing here?”

  Michel paused, raising one thick, black brow. Somehow he managed to step directly into the sunlight and his black hair, tied back at the nape of his neck, shone almost blue. “Isn’t it obvious? I was looking for you two. Everyone else showed up to the castle after classes were cancelled, but where were the Borde siblings, I asked?” He shrugged, the movement so fluid the simple gesture was almost hypnotizing. “No one seemed to know.”

  I gritted my teeth in frustration, wishing he would just get to the point. If he even had one. Michel acted like the world was his stage; no matter the time of day or where he was, he was always performing to his loyal fans.

  “Then I remembered how much time the two of you have been spending here,” Michel continued. “You never did tell me why you come here so often; it’s not like there’s anything to see or do. But that doesn’t matter.” He waved his words away and walked over to us, stopping in front of Aeonia, who was still sitting on the ground. “I see you have company.” He held out a hand to her. “My lady.”

  Aeonia rolled her eyes and looked away, clearly not interested. That in itself was so shocking that my mouth actually dropped open. I’d never seen anyone refuse Michel’s attentions before. It was unheard of!

  “This is Aeonia,” Emile the peacekeeper was quick to say. “And this is her sister, Aurora.”

  Michel’s eyes roved up and down Aurora’s tall body, his lips spreading into a slow smile. Envy coursed through me and I struggled to clamp it down. But it was hard to control my jealousy when Aurora’s gray eyes brightened with interest and she allowed Michel to take her hand. But when he tried to plant a kiss on the back of it, she snatched her hand away and scowled at him.

  I glanced at Emile, my cheeks red with embarrassment—or anger. He gave me a sympathetic smile and threw an arm around my shoulder, pulling me against him. Leaning into him, I took comfort in his familiar, calm presence, letting it strengthen me.

  Michel, never one to be deterred, stepped even closer to Aurora. “Are you lovely ladies here with the carnival?”

  Gilbert, who’d been watching his best friend flirt with Aurora with a sour look on his face, snorted. “Isn’t that obvious, Michel? Just look at their clothes! Or are you too busy looking at something else to notice?”

  Cheeks reddening, Michel’s head whipped around so he could glare at his friend. “Don’t be rude! In fact, go away. All of you!” When his group of friends just stared at him, Michel smacked his hands together, the sound echoing off the ruins like a thunderclap. “Are you deaf? Leave! Go back to the castle and do some more training. Everyone knows you need it!”

  After a lot of grumbling and surly looks, the group, led by an annoyed Gilbert, left. Ignoring the complaints, Michel turned his attention back to Aurora and Aeonia.

  I glanced at Emile. We both began to edge away, but then Michel said, “Where are you going?”

  “Back to the castle?” My words came out as a question, and I cursed myself for sounding so unsure.

  “No, you two can stay. We interrupted you, after all. What kind of person would I be if I told you to leave?” Michel laughed. I couldn’t muster the energy to join him, but Emile managed a weak smile.

  “I don’t think Claudette wants to stay,” Aeonia said. She was speaking more to my forgotten flower crown in her lap than to us. “I’ve angered her.”

  “Now, now, that’s ridiculous.” Michel plopped down, indicating that Aurora should join him on the ground. After a moment’s hesitation, she did. “Claudette may be prone to rashness, but she doesn’t hold a grudge. Emile would never let her.”

  Was Michel insulting me? Probably, but I didn’t have the energy to waste on him right now. Yes, Aeonia’s words had angered me, but I wasn’t mad at her. Sitting down as well, I leaned over and took Aeonia’s hands in mine. She looked up, surprised. “I’m sorry,” I said.

  Aeonia nodded. “I am, too. I never should have said what I did about the Knights.”

  “What?” Michel’s chest puffed out importantly. “You were talking about the Knights? Did they tell you I’m their leader?” he asked Aurora.

  “They never mentioned you at all,” she said. “Are you sure you’re their leader?”

  Instead of scowling or snapping at her, Michel threw his head back and laughed. I tried not to stare at his long neck and failed miserably. Emile, too, was staring, and his face reddened when he realized I’d caught him in the act.

  My poor brother. Taking pity on him, I patted the grass next to me. As he sat, he took great pains not to look at Michel again.

  “You’re a fiery one, aren’t you?” Michel was saying to Aurora. “Do you train as well? You definitely have the look of a warrior to you.”

  “I do,” she said slowly, “although they don’t let anyone younger than twenty have weapons. They said we’re not ready.” Aurora made no effort to hide the scorn from her voice.

  “No weapons?” Michel scoffed at that. “How are you supposed to protect yourself?”

  “That’s exactly what I said!” Aurora exclaimed. And from there the two of them fell
into a heated conversation.

  Aeonia shook her head. “We’ve lost her. Aurora loves weapons more than anything. She’ll spend the rest of the night discussing swords with your friend.”

  “It’s all right,” I said, even though I didn’t really mean it. Next to me, Emile sighed heavily.

  “Let me make it up to you,” Aeonia said. “Let me show you the carnival tonight. I guarantee you’ll see things you never would see if you went on your own.”

  I perked up at that. “Really? You’d do that for us?”

  Aeonia handed me the crown of flowers back, the blue flower she’d been clutching now woven in amongst the others. “Of course!” She paused. “I hope I’m not being too forward, but I’d like for us to be friends. Traveling with my people is nice, but at the same time, I’ve known all of those people since birth. Do you know how many times my uncle Freddy has told me the same story about how he found a magic stone when he was a kid? And how the magic stone turned out to be a pebble that caused more bad luck than good?”

  “What happened?” I asked. “How did it cause bad luck?”

  Aeonia slumped over with a groan. “No! Don’t make me tell that story!”

  “Please!” I grabbed her arm and shook. “Please, please, please!”

  “You better tell her,” Emile advised. “She’ll never let you go until you do.”

  Aeonia wrinkled her nose. “Are you saying that because it’s true, or because you want to hear the story as well?”

  He beamed. “I want to hear the story!”

  “Fine!” Aeonia threw her free arm up into the air. “I’ll tell you!”

  Wearing identical grins, Emile and I got comfortable while Aeonia regaled us with tales of her dear uncle Freddy.

  ***

  We sat amongst the ruins until the sun set. I’d been so entranced by Aeonia’s tales that I hadn’t even noticed it was growing darker until Emile pointed it out. Blinking, I tilted my head back to take in the gray sky illuminated by thousands of twinkling, bright stars. “We need to go!” I jumped to my feet, brushing off the back of my pants.

  “What’s the rush?” Aeonia asked as she handed me my flower crown. It must have fallen off when I’d leaned back to gaze at the stars.

  “Our parents are going to wonder where we are,” Emile explained. “Our father will want to take us to the carnival—”

  “Oh, but he can’t!” Aeonia interrupted. “I said I’d take you, remember?”

  I exchanged a look with Emile. “He’ll probably understand if we tell him we’re going with friends.”

  My brother remained unconvinced. “Maybe… Maybe I’ll go with him? And you can go with Aeonia?”

  “That sounds like a great idea!” Aeonia wrapped herself around my arm, tugging me to her side. “Let’s do that, Claudette!”

  “But…” Emile and I did everything together. Not because we had to, but because we wanted to. I couldn’t dream of visiting the carnival without him by my side. It would be like trying to walk after someone had cut off one of my legs.

  “Emile will be fine,” Michel declared. After hours of ignoring us for Aurora, he seemed to have decided to join our conversation. What convenient timing, I thought sourly. “Look at it this way: We’ve already paired up, so if Emile goes with us, he’ll end up feeling like a bother.”

  Despite the darkness, I could see the hurt in Emile’s eyes. Did he actually believe that? I pulled free from Aeonia’s grasp, but already my brother was slipping away, leaving the four of us behind.

  Stunned, I watched him leave. “I should go after him.”

  “No.” Michel’s hand clamped down on my shoulder. It was the first time he’d ever touched me, and I hated myself for feeling a thrill course through my body. “The two of you need to stop doing everything together, Claudette. Let him go and find his own friends. Maybe he’ll meet a girl.”

  He likes boys, you idiot! I wanted to scream the words at Michel, but it wasn’t my secret to tell. It was a badly kept secret, too, and I thought for sure Michel had known. I shook my head. Maybe it was better he didn’t know. He’d probably end up using that against Emile in some way.

  “I’m sure we’ll meet up with him at some point,” Aeonia said. “Come on, Claudette, don’t let your brother’s bad mood ruin your evening. Besides, he’s the one who volunteered to go with your father. To me it seems like he didn’t want to go with you that badly.”

  “Like I said, he probably wants to meet someone new,” Michel said. “He can’t do that with you clinging to him.”

  I stopped myself before I could snap at Michel. Was that true? Did I cling to Emile and prevent him from having other friends? We were friendly with the other squires at the castle, but neither one of us had any close friends. I always thought we didn’t need to have any because we had each other. But maybe Emile wanted other friends.

  Maybe Michel was right. Maybe I was holding my brother back from the life he wanted to live.

  Forcing a cheery smile on my face, I turned to Aeonia and said, “Are we going to the carnival or not?”

  Chapter Six

  The carnival was already clogged with people by the time we arrived. Aurora and Michel slipped away, leaving me to stare at Aeonia expectantly. I was still worried and upset over Emile’s departure, but I wouldn’t let that ruin my night. It’d been nine years since the last carnival and would be who knew how many years until the next one; I wouldn’t waste this opportunity to have fun.

  The smell of fried dough surrounded us and my stomach gave a noisy growl. “Come on.” Aeonia wrapped her hand around my wrist and tugged me into the crowd. We passed tent after tent, each one illuminated by flickering torchlight. I wanted to stop to see what they had to offer, but Aeonia was insistent. “Food first, and then we can look!”

  We came to a halt in front of a purple tent. A large crowd gathered in front, but Aeonia led me around to the back, where we slipped between the seams in the fabric. Adults rushed back and forth, scrambling to fill everyone’s orders. Feeling like an invader, I hung back, watching as Aeonia successfully navigated her way around the bustling adults, grabbing two wrapped parcels and narrowly avoiding getting smacked in the head with a wooden spoon by one of the workers.

  “Aeonia, leave that!”

  Aeonia stuck her tongue out and dashed back to my side, giggling as she shoved one of the parcels into my hands. Together we exited the tent, both laughing now.

  “Won’t they be mad?” With my free hand I reached into my pocket for some coins. “I should pay—”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Aeonia said, unwrapping her parcel and taking a big bite of the fried dough. “I can take all the food I want. I’m family.” She said that last part with a roll of her eyes, and I wasn’t sure if she was joking or not.

  I stared at my parcel. It was warm in my hand, and the smell wafting from it—fried sweetness—was intoxicating. Again my stomach growled, but still I hesitated. I turned to ask Emile what we should do—

  And remembered that he wasn’t here.

  “Claudette.” Aeonia was watching me. “Just eat it. You’re not stealing or doing anything wrong. We make so much of that dough that we have to throw it out. I swear. Now try it. You’ll love it.”

  Slowly I unwrapped the parcel, revealing the fried dough underneath. It was dusted in powdered sugar, reminding me of snow blanketing the countryside in the winter. Steam rose from it as I took a small bite.

  I nearly swooned.

  “See?” Aeonia said, watching me inhale the thing.

  “Can I have another?”

  She laughed. “Of course!”

  After Aeonia swiped two more treats for us, we began exploring the carnival at a slower pace. This time when I wanted to stop, we did. I browsed stalls that sold everything from clothes to jewelry to potions. We stood in front of the potions booth for a long time, my eyes roving across the multitude of bottles that lined the stall’s shelves.

  “Can you really make someone fall in love with
you?” I asked, picking up a pink bottle with a heart drawn on the front.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. That’s just river water dyed pink.” Aeonia plucked it from my fingers and put it back where it came from. “Who do you want to make fall in love with you, anyway?”

  I was grateful it was dark so she couldn’t see my cheeks redden. “No one.”

  “Hmm. As long as it’s not Michel.” She laughed when my eyes widened. “Oh, Claudette, why? And please don’t say it’s because he has a pretty face. Plenty of boys have pretty faces.”

  “It’s not!” I said, even though that was partly the reason why. “He’s strong and loyal. And he’s going to lead the Knights someday!”

  Aeonia sniffed. “Your Knights again.” My expression changed, and she held up a hand quickly. “I’m not insulting them. I’m just saying… They might not be right.”

  “They’ve pledged to keep the world safe from magic,” I said. “How can that be wrong?”

  Aeonia ran a finger along the bottles. “Is magic really that bad?”

  I laughed, my humor dying when I realized she wasn’t joking. “Aeonia. It nearly destroyed the world.”

  “Nearly,” she repeated. “And because of a select few. They were wrong. They were bad. They used the magic to do horrible things. Not everyone who wielded magic was like that.”

  If Aeonia had lived in Ayres, she’d be arrested for what she was saying. It was borderline treason. I glanced around, convinced Michel or an official Knight would suddenly pop out from behind a tent and arrest us both.

  “There, I’ve gone and made you upset again.” Aeonia’s jaw trembled slightly. “I do this all the time. I’m sorry, Claudette. Aurora tells me I talk too much and no one cares about my opinions, but I have a hard time listening to her. She doesn’t talk much at all, so I feel like I have to fill in the silence and—”

  “Aeonia.” I caught her hands; she’d been waving them around frantically and I was afraid she’d knock over the bottles. “It’s all right. I’m not mad. Just…” Again I looked around. Lowering my voice, I said, “I’ve never heard anyone say something like that before. Everyone in Ayres hates and fears magic. It’s what we’re taught.”