The Fading Dusk by Melissa Giorgio
(Smoke and Mirrors, #1)
Publication date: July 19th 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Synopsis:
In the gritty city of Dusk, seventeen-year-old Irina makes her living as the street magician Bantheir’s assistant. The job isn’t glamorous, but she loves the crowds, the shows, and most of all, the illusion of magic. But Irina’s world is shattered the night she is arrested and charged as Bantheir’s accomplice to murder—murder by magic.
Real magic, the kind that’s been forbidden since the old wars.
Irina finds the idea of flashy showman Bantheir using actual magic to kill someone laughable, but she’s the only one who sees how ridiculous the claim is. But how can she convince everyone Bantheir is innocent when they’ve already made up their minds? Desperate, Irina must decide who she can trust to help her win her freedom. Is the surly, handsome Captain Leonid telling the truth when he says he believes Irina is innocent, or is he just using her to get to Bantheir? What about Aden, the sweet soldier and longtime fan of Irina’s who claims he’s on her side?
Irina said she wanted to know the truth, but when she stumbles across a dark secret that changes everything, will she be strong enough to survive?
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Excerpt from The Fading Dusk
I tugged at my bindings, wincing as the rope cut into my wrists. The skin was already tender from where the burly man had grabbed me, and the soldier who had bound me to the chair hadn’t taken any chances, tying the knots as tightly as he could. Did they expect me to run away the first chance I had?
More soldiers poured into the room, regarding me curiously. But no one offered to untie me or remove the foul-tasting gag from my mouth, even when I gave them the saddest look I could muster. Is this how the soldiers normally treated innocent people? It was beyond cruel!
Unless they really do think you’re guilty, a small voice whispered. But guilty of what? I was the one who’d been attacked! I’d say ask the burly man and his companion, but that was a little hard considering they were dead!
And where was Bantheir throughout all of this? Surely he’d come and rescue me, once he found out what had happened to his assistant? But what if he drank so much he had to spend the night at his new friends’ house? I groaned. Bantheir did love his alcohol—especially when it was free.
“Does it hurt?” a voice close to my ear said, startling me. I turned to see who’d spoken and my heart skipped a beat.
“Yuuu!” I said around the gag.
The blond boy who’d defended my honor at the magic show crinkled his brow, confusion in his grass-green eyes. His young face was whisker-free and still retained some of its baby fat, and his golden hair was cut short. His shoulders were broad under his uniform—my admirer was a soldier? Imagine that. “What was that?” When I didn’t answer, he removed the gag from my mouth and I nearly wept with relief. “Are your bonds hurting you?” he asked, giving me a gentle smile that caused something warm in my stomach to blossom. His eyes were such a deep, mesmerizing green that I found it hard to look away.
“Yes,” I said, giving him my sad look. “They’re cutting into my skin.”
His eyes widened, telling me my sad look had worked on him. He called out to the captain. “Sir, can I untie her bonds? She’s not going anywhere.”
I turned my sad look on the captain, who immediately scowled. Addressing the blond man, he said, “Just the ones on her wrists.” And then he went back to his papers, ignoring us completely.
The captain was clearly heartless.
“Sorry, just give me a minute,” my savior said, picking at the knots. “I’m Aden, by the way.”
“I saw you today,” I said. “At the magic show.”
He went red in the face. “Did you?”
The boy was too charming for his own good. “Thank you. For defending me, I mean.”
The rope slipped away from my hands and fell to the floor. “Of course! I’m your biggest fan!” His face went even redder and Aden backed away, stuttering. “I mean, that is—I go to a lot of your shows—but I’m not a stalker or anything.”
Taking pity on Aden, I held up my wrists, massaging them as I tried to get the blood flowing through my limbs again. “That’s so much better! If I’m never tied up again, it won’t be soon enough!”
He laughed, and a dimple formed in his right cheek. Catching me staring, Aden quickly looked away.
Now I was the one who started blushing. Why was this adorable boy making me so flustered? Was it because he was adorable? Whatever the case, staring into his eyes, I could almost forget that I was tied to a chair, arrested for a crime I hadn’t committed.
Then the door banged open with an echoing clang and I remembered to be scared.
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Melissa Giorgio is a native New Yorker who graduated from Queens College with a degree in English. She’s always dreamed of being a writer and has been creating stories (mostly in her head) since she was a little girl. Also an avid reader, Melissa loves to devour thick YA novels. When not reading or writing, she enjoys watching animated films, listening to music by her favorite Japanese boy band, or exploring Manhattan. She is also the author of the Silver Moon Saga.
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About the Author:
Melissa Giorgio is a native New Yorker who graduated from Queens College with a degree in English. She’s always dreamed of being a writer and has been creating stories (mostly in her head) since she was a little girl. Also an avid reader, Melissa loves to devour thick YA novels. When not reading or writing, she enjoys watching animated films, listening to music by her favorite Japanese boy band, or exploring Manhattan. She is also the author of the Silver Moon Saga.
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