Of Songs and Silence

OF SONGS AND SILENCE TWISTED PAGES BOOK FIVE ELLE MADISON ROBIN D MAHLE Copyright © 2023 by Whiskey and Willow Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Cover by Covers By Combs Map by Elle Madison Proofreading by Red Ink Ninja Created with Vellum For my munchkin, Who always wanted to be a mermaid, but probably not quite like this. This book is dark like our souls. Red sky. There's something bad in the balance. I'm starin' into the darkness and I like what I see. There's a thin line between a sinner and a savior. Never once did I ever think it would be me. KIANA LEDÉ & CAUTIOUS CLAY CONTENTS A Note From the Authors Foreword Prologue Chapter 1 Zaina Chapter 2 Melodi Chapter 3 Melodi Chapter 4 Melodi Chapter 5 Melodi Chapter 6 Aika Chapter 7 Melodi Chapter 8 Melodi Chapter 9 Melodi Chapter 10 Melodi Chapter 11 Melodi Chapter 12 Remy Chapter 13 Melodi Chapter 14 Melodi Chapter 15 Melodi Chapter 16 Melodi Chapter 17 Melodi Chapter 18 Melodi Chapter 19 Melodi Chapter 20 Melodi Chapter 21 Ariihau Chapter 22 Melodi Chapter 23 Melodi Chapter 24 Ariihau Chapter 25 Melodi Chapter 26 Melodi Chapter 27 Einar Chapter 28 Melodi Chapter 29 Aika Chapter 30 Melodi Chapter 31 Melodi Chapter 32 Ariihau Chapter 33 Melodi Chapter 34 Melodi Chapter 35 Zaina Chapter 36 Ariihau Chapter 37 Melodi Chapter 38 Melodi Chapter 39 Melodi Chapter 40 Ariihau Chapter 41 Melodi Chapter 42 Melodi Chapter 43 Melodi Chapter 44 Melodi Chapter 45 Ariihau Chapter 46 Ariihau Chapter 47 Remy Chapter 48 Melodi Chapter 49 Melodi Chapter 50 Ariihau Chapter 51 Zaina Chapter 52 Melodi Chapter 53 Remy Chapter 54 Zaina Chapter 55 Aika Chapter 56 Einar Chapter 57 Zaina Chapter 58 Zaina Chapter 59 Melodi Chapter 60 Aika Chapter 61 Zaina Epilogue A Message From Us ElBin’s Acknowledgments About The Authors Also By Elle & Robin Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three A NOTE FROM THE AUTHORS Hey awesome readers, We know that your little OCD souls are being shattered by the lack of symmetry here, with two books for each sister and only one for Melodi. We feel that same pain. But this was the ending our series demanded, and the way Mel’s story needed to be told. So, Of Songs and Silence really is the last book in the Twisted Pages Series. On the bright side, at least we won’t be torturing you with any cliffhangers! Speaking of torture…please mind your mental health and be mindful of the usual Twisted Pages potential triggers. <3 That said, we hope you love MelAri’s story as much as we do! FOREWORD How do you scream if you don’t have a voice? And who is there to hear you? PROLOGUE MELODI The endless pattern of the waves crashing into the cliffs, then receding, is slowly driving me insane. It was the backdrop to my childhood, the only sound in the hours I spent alone in my rooms, wondering if my sisters would ever return. These days, the balcony we used to share is the closest I come to them, or to freedom. I don’t dare leave my rooms, not when Mother has ordered me to stay. So, I am all but drowning in the relentless song of the sea when an unexpected ship sails into view. My breath hitches in my lungs. Any ship would be unexpected. There are still weeks left until the waters around the isle will be safe to traverse. But there is no mistaking the black sails of my mother’s ship. It takes everything I have not to sprint down to the docks, unendingly desperate for the sound of my sister’s voice—really, any voice other than the terrified squeaks from the maids who leave my food and draw my bath every day. I stay rooted to the spot, though, watching as one by one, the occupants of the ship disembark. First is Mother, walking with unusually hurried steps, something almost…frantic in her movements. Disturbed, even. It’s so at odds with her usual demeanor that it sends tendrils of apprehension trickling down my spine. Next comes Damian who, in contrast, is even more smug than normal. Dread churns in my gut before the crew even disembarks, before I confirm the suspicion that has been brewing in the back of my mind. Aika is not on that ship. This is the longest I’ve been away from her, and I have lost two sisters already. I might have thought that she had merely stayed behind in Corentin… But Mother is agitated. And Damian is smug. And I know that something is wrong. Though I know Mother won’t want to see me, I don’t think she’ll punish me just for meeting her in the foyer. I can’t wait any longer than that for answers. So, composing my features, I fly down several sprawling flights of stairs, reaching the entryway just as the front doors are all but hurled from their hinges. What happened? Where is my sister? I can’t speak the words aloud, and as usual, Mother won’t look at me long enough to read them in my expression. I could write them down, but she will ignore that, too. I turn to Damian, hating that he is my only option, but knowing that he’s already examining my features to decipher my thoughts. For all that he harbored a sick fascination with my oldest sister, he has always looked at me with something close to reverence. Bile creeps up my throat. At the reminder