Chapter 15 #2
The song mood was chill, the vibe soft and sweet, like a warm summer day drinking lemonade.
For an incubus it was distinctly innocent except…
Hm. I wouldn’t look at the lyrics too closely, I’d just sing and enjoy the harmony.
His voice wasn’t powerful and amazing, but it was good, mellow, easy to listen to.
I was pretty relaxed by the end of the session.
“Perfect!” Mirabel said, shaking my hand and then his, beaming between us slightly manic with her large eyes and wild golden curls.
“Or good enough, which is practically the same thing. Obviously neither of you are professional singers, but people are still going to love this song. Classic waltz beat, so it’s even danceable!
Okay. Drink some lemon water before bed, because you’re going to be singing with the fairy tomorrow, and he’s going to be a demanding diva.
Okay isn’t going to be good enough for him, so he’ll probably push you towards some kind of technical ability, and then your voice can rest with the werewolf.
You know that’s going to be weird, and then the finale will be with my brother.
He’s technical precision and soul and magic.
It's a sin that he never truly pursued music.”
I stared at her in horror. If Richard made Fellicci look like an amateur, how was I supposed to sing with him?
She saw my face and gurgled a laugh before she pulled me into a hug. “You’ll be fine. Just remember that he’s an idiot.”
As soon as she was gone I bit into the chocolate without waiting to see if it was poisoned.
I got back to my cottage without anyone trying to kill me, which might have something to do with the ogres that had joined the angels in the perimeter.
I drank my lemon water, and then released my wings because they itched under my skin, or magic, or whatever it was. The rune binding, I guess. I slept pretty well beneath the cover of their psychological shade, and then the next morning I put my wings away and I was ready to face the fairy.
He was arguing with Mirabel, arms crossed while Mirabel had her hands on her hips.
The fairy sneered. “Her tone is sketchy, and she has no support or breath control. What you’re asking her to do is impossible for an amateur.
” Why did his gorgeous voice sound so annoying?
Maybe it was the bad Italian accent. Also all the insults.
Did he think my voice was so terrible? Is that why he chose to do a solo instead of another duet with me?
She nodded, but her hands didn’t relax their grip on her music.
“Just worry about your part, okay? This isn’t a solo, but a duet.
The definition of a duet is that you sing together.
Her joining only the chorus isn’t going to work.
Oh hey, Kat!” She beamed at me, but she smiled too hard.
She was clearly struggling to not smack the fairy.
I was just glad I didn’t find anything about him attractive anymore.
Ever since he’d done nothing to help my poisoned angel, he’d been dead to me.
I waved at her and came closer, swirling my skirt back and forth. My outfit was pastel pink with green trim to match Fellicci’s wings. He gave me his automatic smile and slight bow.
“Let’s do this!”
It wasn’t a disaster because Mirabel had the will and patience of a bulldozer. That is she kept bulldozing over Fellicci. In the meantime, I was working really hard to support my diaphragm and put in volume and expression.
My voice wasn’t terrible, was it? I wasn’t an opera singer, but I could sing on key, and my whole life people had said I had a pretty voice.
Fellicci sighed heavily and took me by the elbow. “We are running scales until your face turns blue.”
So that was Tuesday. After we did the music video pieces we went to the home-made booth Mirabel had created using costume racks on each side so we wouldn’t echo.
By the time I was stumbling down the path towards my cottage, I was dying.
At the end, between Mirabel and the fairy, I’d pushed my voice to do things it wasn’t meant to do.
Was it better? No idea, but it was definitely torture.
Should beauty be torture? Probably, but I didn’t like it.
I tumbled to bed, released my wings, and slept like the dead.
Wednesday morning I woke up knowing that I’d be singing with Rafe-the-waxed-werewolf.
I took my time dressing to look extra adorable just so I wouldn’t have to focus on the drama.
I was still bone-deep exhausted from all the technical work with Fellicci and Mirabel the day before. I just hoped it sounded okay.
Working with the werewolf was…something. He kept throwing in random rap segments about how much weight he could bench. Seriously. Finally, Mirabel worked his rapping into the duet.