Jax groaned and scrubbed his hands down his face. “Dross…”
Drosselmeyer sighed. “What do you know of wizards, Jax?”
“That you ought to come with interpreters?” he muttered. At the slight raise of Drosselmeyer’s eyebrow, he relented. “You’re like the conductors of an orchestra. You not only hear all of the music, but you have the score in front of you. You know what it’s supposed to sound like, and your job is to direct the musicians—which in this metaphor would be us regular Faerie folk—to play our parts correctly. To enter at the right time, to temper our dynamics, to use appropriate expression, and so on.”
The wizard nodded. “It’s important for a good conductor to know his players well, to know which are the strong players who can carry a solo, which players are the necessary glue that will hold a section together with the inner harmonies, and, in some cases, which are the players who can play a cue if necessary, stepping in to cover a part that is desperately needed but somehow missing.”
“I’m assuming I’m not the soloist in this scenario,” Jax said drily.
“The Almighty formed you perfectly to play a part—Jax Papageno, the Bird Catcher. But also Jax, the Dragon Charmer, and Jax, the Assistant to the Assistant Keeper of the Menagerie. When Odessa was cursed, Boris assumed she would be overlooked. She’s a swan, a commonplace bird that most would pay little attention to.”
“But a Bird Catcher would,” Jax said slowly, taking the words in. “Is that why I’m here? Because you knew that I would notice something was wrong?”
“I certainly hoped. You always could have chosen not to take a closer look or get involved, but I had faith that the curiosity and sense of adventure that the Almighty blessed you with would lead you to play the cues and fill in the notes that were missing. Of course, you can still choose to go home, if that is what you wish. Your father will welcome you either way.”
From somewhere in the depths of his robes, Drosselmeyer pulled out a small golden harp. He passed it to Jax. “It’s been enchanted to play itself. If you want to return to Faerie, simply strum the strings and it will take care of the rest.”
Jax looked down at the instrument, indecision warring in his chest. On the one hand, he was struck with a sudden longing to see his family. Drosselmeyer’s revelation that his father was not as ashamed of him as he had assumed made Jax want to rush home and look his father in the eyes and ask if it were true. On the other hand was Odessa.
And while he was ready to throw himself at her feet and beg her to let him love her for the rest of his life, he wasn’t entirely sure it would be welcome.
If it weren’t, he didn’t know if his heart could take it.
He glanced up at Drosselmeyer. “What would you do?”
“What would I do?” the wizard repeated. “To avoid being called out as ‘vague’ and ‘mysterious,’ I would go to the woman I’m in love with and very plainly ask her how she felt.” He shook his head. “You young people. So many of your problems would be fixed by simply communicating with one another, rather than assuming that you know what is going on in someone else’s head. You love Odessa.”
He said it as a statement, rather than a question, and it took Jax a moment to realize it was true. “I…do.”
“Then tell her. Play your part, and let her decide what happens next.”
He nodded, blowing out a nervous breath. “Right.”
“Oh, and Jax?” Drosselmeyer’s eyes twinkled. “The harp doesn’t have a time limit. You can choose to go home, but you can also choose to go homelater.”
Chapter Seventeen
ODESSA
“Mother.”
Odessa kept her head tucked under her wing, pretending to still be asleep, even though the sun was nearly to its zenith. She was nursing a sour mood, and the sunshine would only get in the way.
“I’m hungry.”
A splash of water landed on her neck, and she groaned inwardly.“Go find something to eat, then.”
“I don’t want to do it by myself.”
“Then I guess you’ll have to wait.”
The splash of water was bigger this time, and Odessa snapped her head up and glared at Bean. He was the size of a pony now, and how he still managed to float on the water was a mystery she had yet to solve. They were tucked away in a sheltered part of the lake where the shoreline cut into the woods and the trees kept them hidden from anyone approaching the lake from the palace or Menagerie. Thankfully, Bean hadaccepted this new rule without argument, especially when she had emphasized the importance of not letting Boris see him.
“Beanjamin! Just because you are rude does not mean I’m going to change my mind.”
“Just because you’re grumpy at Jax does not mean I’m going to suddenly not be hungry.”
Odessa huffed.“I’m not grumpy at Jax.”
