In Pieces

15 | All About That Buzz |

Long, green leaves of a mighty willow swept the tall grass as Gio and I sat under it and faced the river. We were already dry—thanks to his magic head tilt.

I couldn't believe I came here this morning—it felt like I'd stayed here forever.

"I owe my life to you, don't I?" I asked, playing with the edges of my skirt.

"Who me?" Gio looked over his shoulder before darting his amused gaze back at me. When he saw the pain in my eyes, his grin slowly disappeared. "Where did the second mirror take you?"

"To the day I was born."

"Oh." He narrowed his eyes as his lips pressed into a tight line. "So, you know about my contract with..."

I bit my lip and nodded.

Gio raked his fingers through the grass, his thoughtful gaze hovering above the water's smooth surface.

"Alaia, your mom has always been a troubled soul. Your grandmother—she saw the signs when Miranda was a little girl. Corinne wished for me to heal your mom many times, but—"

"You can't heal."

He nodded. "Your grandmother tried to cure your mom in her own way. I'm not to say her methods were right or wrong. But in the end, your mom grew up alone, away from home across the ocean, in a boarding school, under very strict rules. And when Corinne fell ill, she asked for her daughter to return to the castle, only to see that Miranda had worsened through the years."

I sighed. It all made sense now. "That's why Grandmother chose to keep the mirror a secret from Mom."

"She didn't want Miranda to use it—use me—because she thought such power would bring her more destruction than good."

It sounded like Grandmother was wise, but she couldn't stop Mom from destroying her marriage or me...

"You are not destroyed, only a little broken—cracked." Gio's ears sagged as his voice trailed off.

I reached out and grabbed his hand. His eyes shone with tears when our gazes met. "You didn't break me or destroy anything, Gio. She did it all by herself. I'm afraid the damage would be much bigger if you weren't around."

He blushed. "I might have tricked her into making the better wish every once in a while."

Songs of a hundred birds filled the air. The evening must have been nearing. The pines' soft, fuzzy shadows across the river grew taller. The sky was now a darker shade of gray—so were my thoughts.

My chest tightened as I sucked in a deep breath. My next question was a hard one. "Gio, did you save my life eighteen years ago so I'd be debted into marrying you?"

"What?" he snapped. "Is that what you think of me?"

I wanted to trust the guy—I really did. But the last mirror world made me realize there wasn't a single person I could trust back home. Not my self-absorbed mom, not my cheating dad, or the gossiping staff... Trust wasn't something that could be granted through the years or a with a sudden head-tilt. It seemed like trust didn't come after an act of bravery, either—at least, not to me.

I rubbed my forehead. "You've been saving my life before I was even born. I just want to know why."

Gio's head hung on his shoulders as if it weighed heavier than the rest of his body. "I saved you because I couldn't watch you get hurt. And when I met you today, I hoped you'd say yes to my proposal—of course, I did. But that was just hope, Alaia. Not some ancient plan or magic trick."

"Then why do you buzz every time I'm around?"

He chuckled, shuffled his hair, and started buzzing again. "Told you. I fancy you, silly. It's not like I can cast a spell to make you fall in love with me."

He was the silly one with that gappy-toothed smile, not me. I giggled.

He raised his silver eyes in confusion and blushed when our eyes met. My chuckles turned into laughter, and I wasn't laughing because he was funny. I laughed because I was happy and glowing with a new sense of security, feeling as care-free as the birds chirping between the trees.

Wiping a tear from the corner of my eye, I leaned forward and took his hand into mine. "Gio?"

The buzzing intensified as he raised a brow in question.

"I want to earn your trust."

A shy smile beamed across his face. With a nod, he flicked his fingers in the air and summoned our notorious contract. "Just hold onto it," he said, handing it out to me.

I gently pulled the humming scroll from his grasp and stuffed it into my cleavage. "I'll keep it close to my heart this time."

Gio's cheeks flared and became a deep shade of crimson. His ear tips quivered like the wings of an angry wasp. The buzzing cracked the air. Tiny bolts started flashing around him.

I chuckled and pushed the fizzy contract deeper into my petticoat to keep it secure. Then I stood up and held out my hand.

"Shall we?"

Gio's brows rocketed as a couple of tiny fireworks blew over his head. "Are you proposing to me?"

"No!" I burst out laughing. "Let's go get me fixed!"

The fireworks disappeared, but Gio kept laughing. Then he grabbed my hand and jumped to his feet.

I wrapped my arms around his neck. He wrapped his around my waist. Looking into each other's eyes, we smiled and counted. "One, two, three." And then we jumped into the river.