“Do I appear worried?”
Scarlett might have looked a bit somber, but now that her head wasn’t bowed Tella was surprised to see there were no anxious lines around her hazel eyes, her pink lips weren’t pinched, her hands weren’t wringing, and her voice was pleasantly light.
It was actually unnerving. Scarlett worried all the time, even when there was nothing to fret about, and right now there were definitely things that should concern her.
“So you really don’t care that I’m engaged?” Tella plopped onto the tufted chaise across from Scarlett.
“Tella, I know you’re only kidding, but this is veering into slightly uncomfortable territory for me. Can you just tell me what really happened?”
Blast it all. This was exactly what Tella feared.
Scarlett continued to give her sister a smile that was both strained and a little patronizing, as if Tella were a very young girl caught up in a make-believe fairy tale. Tella couldn’t blame her. In some ways that was exactly how it felt to Tella. She was staying in a golden tower. A wicked prince had cursed her and imprisoned her mother, and if Tella failed at her task, they’d both be doomed, and so would Scarlett, who’d be left without anyone.
Tella took a deep breath. She had convinced her sister of a sham engagement during Caraval, and she could do it again. She had to do it again if she wanted to keep her sister safe.
“I know it seems sudden and unbelievable,” Tella said. “I still can’t fathom it myself. The truth is we’ve been writing letters for over a year, but I had no idea he was the heir until last night. So when he proposed I couldn’t say no—”
“Tella, stop.” The color fled from Scarlett’s cheeks. “I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but this really isn’t humorous.”
“It’s not supposed to be. If you’d been there last night, you would have seen and understood.”
“Last night was the start of Caraval,” Scarlett argued. “Everything that went on in that ballroom was just a game. You know that.”
“Scar, I know what Caraval is.” And Tella knew how ludicrous she sounded. She could see now it had been a mistake to tell her sister about the letters—the story sounded too close to Scarlett’s own history. But Tella had the Aracle, she could prove what she was saying, and maybe it was time her sister heard the full—or almost full—truth. “This is different, Scar. And it isn’t just about me, it involves our mother—”
“No,” Scarlett snapped, her voice so sharp it rattled the chandelier. “It’s never different, no matter how much you want to believe it. I don’t care what it involves. When I played, it seemed impossible for it to be just a game. Legend planted Julian in our lives before the game had even begun. Then I saw him die, and I saw you die. And even once it was all done, and I knew which parts were real and which parts were lies, I found out I was wrong, that I broke up with a fake fiancé because I had never met the real one.” Scarlett’s voice cracked. Tella swore she saw the words shatter on the carpet and spill across the palatial floor as her sister finally fell apart.
Tella had pushed her too far. She’d also not meant for this. She had not wanted Scarlett to be deceived so deeply, or fall in love, end up heartbroken, head-sick, and confused. Caraval was supposed to bring them both freedom from fear and confinement and miserable marriages.
“If it helps, I was tricked too.” Tella shoved up from her seat and cautiously moved closer. Scarlett was taller than Tella, and yet somehow she looked small and unusually fragile as she hunched in front of the empty fireplace. “I swear I had no idea the count was played by an actor until after it was over. But I’m still very sorry.”
“I know,” Scarlett mumbled. “I’m not upset at you. I should have figured it out on my own. It wasn’t as if no one told me that it all was only a game. I imagine it’s too late to stop you from playing, but Tella, please, be cautious.” Scarlett looked up abruptly. “I know Caraval can be magical and romantic and wonderful, but the spells it casts aren’t easily shaken off, and half the time I don’t even think people realize they have been bewitched.”
“Scar, if you’re right, and it’s all just a game, then doesn’t that mean there’s nothing for you to worry about? Unless you don’t really believe it’s only a game?”
“It’s not the game I’m worried about,” Scarlett said. “I’m thinking about your heart, Tella. I don’t know what’s really going on with you and these engagement rumors, but I know that Caraval has a way of making people fall in love, and sometimes it’s with people who might not be entirely real.”
Tella wasn’t fool enough to say out loud that it would never happen to her. She also believed that when girls voiced sentiments like that aloud they were usually wishing for the opposite to occur, daring the Fates to bring the one thing they claimed not to want.
But Tella wanted love about as much as she wished to contract a disease. There were no kisses worth dying for. No souls worth merging with. There were many beautiful young men in the world, but Tella believed that none of them could be trusted with something as fragile, or valuable, as a heart—especially when her heart had been doomed by the Prince of Hearts to be broken long ago. And even if that wasn’t her destiny, she wasn’t about to fall in love with someone who was only playing a role.
Of course she couldn’t say any of this to Scarlett right now, not when Tella could see her sister’s heart crumbling because of Julian.
The very thing he’d done to keep her was the very thing that had broken them apart. Tella should have tried harder to convince him to tell the truth. She knew it wasn’t all her fault, but she could have helped prevent some of this.
“I don’t believe it’s as hopeless as it seems,” Tella said. “I think Julian is so used to lying it’s all he knows how to do. Before now I don’t imagine he’s ever had a reason to change. But I believe he loves you; it’s clear to anyone who sees the way he looks at you. You’re the starlight to his darkness, and if you feel the same about him, you should give him another chance.”
“I want to think you’re right,” Scarlett said. “But Julian promised not to lie to me at the end of Caraval, and he couldn’t even keep that vow for one day.”
Tella had broken promises just as fast, but now was probably not a good time to bring that up. And she didn’t want to make Scarlett’s choices for her. She did believe that Julian loved her sister, but maybe his life was so entrenched in lies that he was incapable of change, and Scarlett deserved more than that. Tella just hoped whatever she did, Scarlett wouldn’t start thinking about the count again.
She perched on the edge of the stony white fireplace, next to her sister. “So do you just plan on hiding in the palace all week?”
“I don’t know.” Scarlett’s gaze grew distant as she peered out the window toward the rest of the palace and the city beyond. Her mouth twisted with a thought. Then she tilted her head, her eyes taking in all the elegant blue furniture before they lifted toward the ceiling, where a host of carved cherubs watched from above.
“Maybe I’ll stay in here,” Scarlett said. “This suite is large enough to build another suite in.”
“Which reminds me,” Tella asked, “How did you get in here?”
A piece of Scarlett’s smile returned. “I might have thrown a vase in my room last night and accidently opened an entry to a hidden tunnel.” She crossed over to the second fireplace and ran a hand along the edge of the mantel until something clicked. The scent of cobwebs and sooty secrets moved through the air and several bricks shifted all at once.
“That’s brilliant!” Tella clapped.