Finale (Caraval, 3)

Valenda was a city that had been made for the night.

As Tella took a sky carriage back to the palace, the world below her glittered with light. The churches and sanctuaries of the Temple District glowed like bits of moon that had lost their way, while the dimmer lights in the Spice Quarter smoldered like ashes from a fire that refused to die. Then there were the sleeping houses in between the districts, illuminated by guardian lampposts, giving an illusion of safety as people slumbered in their beds.

No one knew how fragile their security was, and Tella wondered if more Fates were waking up now. She probably should have asked Jacks about it before she’d left him. But the Prince of Hearts had looked as if he’d wanted to collect a higher fee for more information.

Tella’s coach came to a gentle halt as it reached the palace carriage house. Mindful of her gown’s ripped hem, she exited carefully.

The air tasted candied, the world glittered, and the stars looked close enough to steal and place inside of her pockets, making Tella feel as if she were inside of one of Legend’s dreams, or back in Caraval. Though the sun had set, servants were still bustling about the palace grounds in preparation for tomorrow’s Midnight Maze. Night dust, which made whatever it touched shimmer under the light of the nearby stars, filled buckets that servants carried around so they could brush everything from the hedges and the fountains lining the walkways to the bunnies that hopped through the gardens.

Most of the palace’s staff didn’t pay much attention to Tella, but she swore a few looked her way with narrowed eyes before turning to each other and whispering things about her.

She knew it was a bad idea to stop and listen—gossip rarely contained compliments. And yet Tella found herself following a pair of chattering servants to the Stone Garden. She ducked behind a female statue on the edge of the garden, with a billowing skirt that created the perfect place for Tella to hide behind as the servants brushed the other statues with more glowing night dust.

“Did you see her?” The first girl’s voice was light and chirping, like a bird’s. Tella had heard it before, her very first night in the palace, when she’d come to Valenda for the last Caraval and Dante had told the staff that she was engaged to Jacks. She hadn’t been that angry until she’d overheard this birdy servant talking about the engagement, or rather about Jacks, and how he was a rumored murderer. They hadn’t known he was actually the Prince of Hearts, and at the time, neither had Legend.

“I thought she was the former heir’s fiancé,” replied a second servant. Tella didn’t recognize her voice. But she decided she didn’t like it when she heard the breathless way she said, “I would think His Handsomeness Prince Dante wouldn’t want her around.”

“Oh, His Handsomeness definitely doesn’t want her around,” said the birdy girl. “I think the little trollop is just hoping to make Prince Dante her new fiancé now that her former fiancé isn’t royal anymore. But everyone—except for her—knows that’s not going to happen. The prince is probably just keeping her around because she used to belong to the former heir, and to keep her in his possession is another show of his power.”

That’s not true! Tella wanted to jump out from behind her statue to protest.

But maybe it was just a little true. Legend was jealous of Jacks. And according to Mistress Luck, when immortals were attracted to humans, they only felt obsession, fixation, lust, and possession.

“I heard,” said the birdy girl, “he actually had her locked in the dungeons this morning!”

“Whatever for?” gasped the second girl.

“It wasn’t because I didn’t want her around,” said Legend, the low sound of his voice filling the entire stone garden.

Suddenly, Tella couldn’t have peeled herself away from her hiding spot if she’d tried. Moments ago, the world had been full of night dust and stars, but now he’d taken over.

The confident scrape of Legend’s boots echoed across the garden and Tella pictured him moving closer, covering the frozen servants in shadows, as he said, “I want her here. If it were up to me, I’d keep her here forever. I asked her to marry me and she said no. That’s why I locked her up. It was an inappropriate response, but sometimes I take things a little too far.”

He paused, and she could picture him flashing a dissolute smile. “You two should keep that in mind the next time you decide to spread rumors, or you might find yourselves in a prison as well.”

“We won’t start any more rumors.”

“We’re so sorry, Your Highness.”

There was a rush of sloppy slippers as if the servants were giving hasty curtsies, and then fleeing the stone garden, probably leaving a trail of glimmering night dust as they scurried off.

“You can come out now, Tella.” Legend’s voice took a teasing turn as he leaned an elbow on the statue that she was behind. Still dressed in the same black-and-wolf-gray suit as earlier, with a matching black half-cape slung over his shoulders, he looked both rakish and regal as he watched her rise from her crouch.

If this had been one of their dreams, when Tella and Legend were still pretending not to care, she might have rolled her eyes up at him, giving him a response that was the opposite of how she felt. But she sensed that game was now over. And yet she still couldn’t be entirely vulnerable and tell him just how much what he’d said had turned her inside out. He’d lied, making himself look like an unhinged princeling in order to keep her reputation from being ruined.

“I think you scared those servants half to death,” Tella said. “But you know they’ll still repeat everything you just told them.”

“I don’t care what anyone says, as long as they’re saying things about me.” His tone was that of a shallow royal, but the look in his eyes was deep and all-consuming. His steady gaze held hers as if he had no intention of ever looking away—as if just maybe he’d been telling the truth when he’d said that he wanted to keep her here forever.

Her neck flushed with heat that spread across her collarbone.

Once again, she thought of Mistress Luck’s warning—immortals only felt obsession, fixation, lust, and possession. But maybe Legend felt more.…

It would get around that he’d been rejected by Jacks’s tarnished former fiancée. Just the rumors would make Legend look weak—a terrible way to start a reign. But he hadn’t even hesitated to defend her.

It made her want to give him something in return.

“I think I know how to find out if the Fallen Star has another weakness.”

Legend’s eyes glittered, as if he’d just won points in the game she thought they were no longer playing. But for once she would gladly give him the points.

“We can buy one of his secrets at the Vanished Market, and I was thinking you could visit it with me.”

His dark brows drew together, suddenly wary. “How’d you find the location of the market?”

“She learned it from me.” Jacks’s smooth voice licked a cold trail up her spine.

Tella spun around.

Jacks was standing directly in front of her, looking exactly like the Prince of Hearts she’d been obsessed with as a child. All pale glowing skin and brilliant golden hair that hung over unearthly blue eyes. His gaze was a little bloodshot, but his smile was exquisite, knife-sharp and polished, like a blade eager to be used.

“How did you get here?” Legend’s voice was lethal, but when Tella looked back at him, his eyes were fixed on hers. They filled with something like hurt before thinning to a look that was closer to an accusation.

“The better question is, how did he get here?” Jacks slit his eyes toward Tella.

“I—” Tella started. But—she paused to look back up at the sky full of impossibly close stars—maybe she wasn’t actually in this part of the palace? Maybe Tella hadn’t stopped to listen to a pair of servants, and maybe Legend hadn’t truly defended her in front of them.

Maybe Jacks was asking why Legend was there because Jacks still knew him as Dante—and Dante was not supposed to have magical abilities, like the power to enter dreams.

Tella’s gaze lowered to the ripped hem of her ice-blue gown, and she willed it to mend itself, something she’d only be able to do if she was in a dream. For a moment, nothing happened.

Then, almost as soon as she’d begun to think she wasn’t in a dream, the dress began to mend. The rip vanished, and a new tear inside of her heart took its place.

This wasn’t real. Legend had risked nothing to defend her in front of those servants, because they were only in a dream.

Until that moment, she’d always loved her dreams with Legend—they’d felt like something special that the two of them had shared. But this felt like a deception.

Her gaze sliced from Legend’s stormy eyes to Jacks’s cutlass smile, feeling as if she was standing in the middle of an immortal game board. She hadn’t liked how Jacks had tricked his way into her dreams, but it was almost worse that Legend had tricked her once again into believing an illusion was real.

“Both of you are terrible.”

Tella willed herself to wake up, and her eyes flashed open just as her sky carriage came to a halt.

She must have fallen asleep while traveling across the city, her visions of Valenda at night seamlessly turning to dreams without her even realizing it.

She climbed out of the coach to find servants buzzing around the palace grounds and painting everything with night dust, but it didn’t glitter as much, the stars no longer looked close enough to touch, and none of the servants glanced her way or whispered behind her back.

It wasn’t until the following morning, when Tella was back in her borrowed palace room, that she heard the voice of a servant.

“Miss Donatella.” Her name followed the loud knock that had woken her up.

Tella threw on her robe and dragged herself out of the raised canopy bed and across thick carpets. Perky sunlight warmed her skin as she opened her main doors. Two royal maids stood on the other side, the same ones who’d been in her dream last night.

They each held one end of a shiny black box, almost as long as Tella was tall.

“We have a gift from His Highness, Prince Dante,” the birdy maid said as both girls set the box atop the closest couch.

“He also wanted to make sure you received this.” The other maid handed Tella a crisp black envelope along with a curious smile.

But Tella wasn’t about to open Legend’s note in front of an audience, especially not one that she imagined would share its contents.

“You can go now,” Tella said. As soon as they left, she tore off the envelope’s seal. The note it contained was a simple square and covered with precise handwriting that for once made Legend easy to read.

Tella,

Last night might have been a dream, but I meant what I said about wanting you. I’m done playing games with you. If you feel the same, find me in the Midnight Maze tonight and I’ll give you your prize.

—L

She reread the letter, her—

“Donatella.” Scarlett’s voice was paired with a knock on the door, cutting off Tella’s thoughts before they could go anywhere interesting.

“I’m not here right now,” Tella called.

“Then you won’t mind if I come in.” The doorknob turned—although Tella would have sworn it had been locked—and Scarlett stepped inside. Her lacy gown was a shockingly bright shade of red, which seemed at odds with her somber smile.

A small train of lace rosettes trailed behind her as she walked toward where Tella huddled on a couch next to the box from Legend. But Scarlett didn’t really look at the box as she took the chair opposite her sister.

It was the first time they’d been alone since their mother had died, and from the way Scarlett was looking at Tella, this was clearly the main reason she was checking in. But Tella’s feelings were still too raw. If she actually talked about her mother now, it would be like picking off a scab before the wound had a chance to heal.

“How are you doing?” Scarlett asked.

“I’m viciously tired,” Tella moaned. “But I think I might perk up if you tell me why you looked so cozy with Julian yesterday.”

Scarlett’s cheeks turned bright pink and her dress shifted to the exact same color.

“I knew it!” Tella crowed. “You’re in love with him again.” Not that Tella really believed her sister had fallen out of love.

Scarlett shook her head, trying to fight her blush. She probably still felt as if they should be talking about their mother rather than boys.

But Tella needed this more than she needed to talk about broken feelings, and she believed her sister did, too. “Tell me everything.”

Scarlett sighed. “I think he’s stealing my heart all over again.” She then told her sister about Julian’s return, and how he’d insisted on coming with her to meet Nicolas, who sounded far more decent than Tella had expected. She surprised Tella again by confessing she’d challenged both gentlemen to a game. “But I think I’m going to call the game off.”

“I’m tempted to tell you not to.” The game was something Scarlett never would have done before Caraval, and Tella was impressed she’d suggested it. “It sounds like a brilliant idea, but you know I’ve never been a fan of Nicolas.”

“There’s nothing wrong with Nicolas. He’s just—”

“Not Julian.”

Scarlett’s answering grin told Tella everything she needed to know. Julian might not have been perfect, but he was perfect for her sister.

“Now it’s your turn.” Scarlett eyed the shiny black box beside Tella.

“It’s a gift from Legend. He wants me to meet him at the Midnight Maze tonight.” Tella pulled out the note Legend had sent her and handed it to Scarlett. “I think this might be his way to apologize to me for tricking me in a dream without really apologizing.”

“Hmm.” Scarlett’s brow furrowed and her dress turned a suspicious shade of mauve as she read. “I actually think he might be planning on giving you more than an apology tonight.” She looked up at Tella with solemn hazel eyes. “Did you know the Midnight Maze isn’t just the start of the weeklong countdown to a new ruler’s coronation? It’s an ancient Valendan tradition with very romantic roots. The first Midnight Maze was built by a prince for the princess he wanted to marry. The stories say that the prince told his princess there would be a prize in the center of the maze. Then he snuck there and waited for her, preparing to propose when she found him.”

“So you think Legend plans to propose?” Tella said it like a joke. Legend hadn’t even given her an apology for leaving her that night in front of the Temple of the Stars. There was no way he could be planning on giving her a proposal.

But Scarlett looked utterly serious. “I don’t think it’s entirely far-fetched. Although, in the story the proposal never happened. After the princess entered the maze, she was never seen again. It’s said whenever there’s a Midnight Maze, the ghost of the prince appears and searches for his lost princess.”

“That sounds like more of a tragedy than a romance,” Tella said.

“But it also sounds like Legend. I think he likes stories on the dark-and-tragic side.” Scarlett pinned Tella with a stare that looked a little like a warning, before her eyes went back to the long black box beside Tella, as if its contents might confirm her suspicions.

“It’s probably just a dress, since he knows we lost most everything when our apartment was destroyed.” Tella lifted the lid. But to say what she found inside was just a dress would have been like saying Caraval was only a game, when it was so much more.

A sweet, bewitching fragrance filled the room. It made her think of every dream that she’d spent with Legend as she reached inside the box and pulled out a gown that could have made any girl fall in love.

The garment he’d sent had straps made of flower petals, a bodice made of ribbons lined in gems as small as glitter, and a full skirt formed of hundreds of silk butterflies, all in different shades of blue that together formed a magical hue she’d never seen. Some had sheer blue wings that were almost as pale as tears, others were soft sky blue, a few had hints of violet, while some had periwinkle veins. The butterflies weren’t alive, but they were so delicate and ethereal, at a glance they looked real. Exactly like the gown of her dreams, the dress she’d worn four nights ago when they’d been inside a dream version of the Church of Legend. She’d thought he hadn’t even noticed what she’d worn. But clearly, he had.

It was tempting to shove the dress in the box and not show up at the party at all. The Fates were still out there; she needed to go to the Vanished Market. She needed to find the Fallen Star’s weakness. It was selfish to attend a party right now.

But the real truth was, she was less afraid of battling monsters than she was of giving Legend her heart once again.

Before Legend, Tella had wanted nothing to do with love. She’d believed she was destined to only experience unrequited love. Then she’d fallen in love with him, and it had been like drinking magic—indescribable, all-consuming, and fantastically addictive. Tella didn’t even want to get married, but if there was one person who could tempt her, it was Legend.

“Are you going to go?” Scarlett asked.

“Of course I’m going to go,” Tella said. She just didn’t know what she would do if Legend actually proposed. No one knew how to make her dream or wonder or feel as much as Legend. But no one knew how to break her like Legend did, either. She still wasn’t entirely over the last heartbreak, and if he did it again, she feared she’d never get over it.