Finally, Tella allowed herself to really consider what she’d overheard between Dante and Julian. Not only had they magically healed her with blood, but Dante had called Julian his brother.
If Julian had been telling Scarlett the truth about Legend being his brother, then Dante was Legend. But if Dante was Legend, why had he brought Tella to Julian for him to heal? Maybe Julian was really Legend.
Tella wished she’d been able to open her eyes and see whose blood she’d been drinking. There was a chance it didn’t belong to Julian or Dante; maybe Julian kept stores of magical blood somewhere. That seemed highly unlikely. But it also felt surreal to imagine that one of the brothers was actually Legend, and that he’d fed her blood to keep her alive.
Either way, handing Legend over to Jacks at the end of the game didn’t feel quite the same as it had before, not even close.
And yet there was a vicious part of Tella that took pleasure in the idea that Dante was really Legend. After hearing Dante tell Julian he only cared about Tella because she could find the cards, part of her would have gladly given him over to Jacks—even as the rest of her warned that this was a terrible idea.
Tella turned back to Jacks to find him toying with one of her honey-blond curls. It sent a chill over her entire body, making the pieces of her that had been healed feel shattered once again. She tried to shake off the sensation. Instead she found herself imagining what Jacks would be like at full power. When the Fates had ruled before, they were said to be more like gods than humans. She pictured his lips forever stained with blood and a pile of dead maidens at his feet.
“Is this why you want Legend?” Tella asked Jacks. “To get the rest of your powers back?”
“I think you already know the answer to that,” Jacks drawled.
“What happens to Legend once this transaction is done?”
Irritation flashed in Jacks’s eyes. “Are you worried about the immortal Master Caraval?”
“No, but I am worried about giving monsters like you and the Undead Queen more power.”
“Monsters are going to be given power no matter how this story ends,” Jacks said pleasantly. “What do you think will happen to Legend if he destroys us and acquires all of our magic? I like power, but no human or immortal should have that much of it. If Legend gets what he wants, he’ll be a greater villain than the world has ever seen.”
“So you believe the game is real?”
“Maybe not for everyone who’s playing, but it is for you and me and Legend. Does that change things for you, pet? Because if you’re having second thoughts let me remind you of two things. You fail to hold up your bargain with me, you will die at the end of this week, and so will your mother. There are only two ways to free someone from a card. A human must willingly take their place inside the card, or an immortal with great power must break the curse and free all of those imprisoned in cards. Legend would never choose freeing the Fates. If he gets his hands on the cards, he’ll destroy them, including your mother.”
Jacks leaned close enough to brush Tella’s ear with cold lips, as he tucked her hair behind it and whispered, “The card your mother’s trapped inside of is linked to the deck of cards imprisoning all the Fates. Unless you want your mother dead, as soon as you win the game you’ll contact me with the luckless coin and give me Legend like you promised.”
“I hate you,” Tella growled.
Jacks chuckled against her earlobe, as if the sentiment gave him a thrill.
“Am I interrupting something?” Scarlett’s voice rang out from the doorway.
Tella looked over to see her sister holding a colorful tray of food and still smiling a little too widely at Jacks.
“I was just saying good-bye.” Jacks smoothed back an errant hair from Tella’s forehead, frowning, as if he hated to leave her.
Scarlett looked as if she might swoon from the sight. And Tella imagined it probably did appear unspeakably elegant, with her lying there all pale atop the cushions, and Jacks looking wild, glowing, and golden, with his gilded hair falling over one uncanny eye.
“I wish I could stay longer. But don’t worry, my love, I’ll be back to collect you this evening for our dinner with the empress.”
Scarlett gasped as she set her tray down next to the bed. “You’re having dinner with the empress?”
“Oh, yes,” Jacks cut in, before Tella could react to this new piece of information. “Her Majesty is very eager to meet the girl who’s stolen my heart. She didn’t care for my last fiancée, but I know she’ll love Donatella as much as I do.”
His tone couldn’t have been sweeter if he’d dipped it in honey, and this time Tella could not discern if what he’d just said was for Scarlett’s benefit, or Tella’s torment. If the empress loved Tella as much as Jacks did, then she would not love her at all.
This dinner suddenly felt like a very bad idea.
In a way the empress had always been as mythical to Tella as the Fates; a powerful ruler she’d heard about but never seen. And, though she was curious, Tella could have done without the honor of meeting Her Majesty. More important, one night with the empress meant one fewer night Tella would have to play the game and find her mother’s cards, which Tella was now certain were the key to winning the game.
“I can’t have dinner with you tonight,” Tella said. “There are only three nights left of Caraval.”
“You keep forgetting how important I am,” said Jacks. “This means you’re significant now, too. I’ve told the empress how much you’ve been enjoying the game, and she’s cancelled everything they’d planned for tonight so that you don’t fall behind.”
“But—”
“It’s already done,” Jacks purred, with a glance at her sister and a hint of mettle in his voice that hadn’t been there before, reminding Tella of exactly what she had to lose if this sham of an engagement was exposed.
Tella wanted to ask why it mattered to him so much. When they’d first met he’d claimed exposing the lie would paint him as weak and put his life in jeopardy. As soon as she found out he was a Fate she imagined that was a lie, but perhaps he was vulnerable until he had his full powers.
“Now,” he added loudly, “I really must leave.” He said a quick good-bye to Scarlett. Thankfully, he made no attempt to kiss her hand or cheek.
Though from the way Scarlett fluttered her lashes as she closed the door behind him, Tella imagined her sister had wanted Jacks to at least brush his lips against her fingers.
“Scar, you need to be careful with him.”
“That’s funny,” Scarlett said, her head turning sharply back toward Tella. “I was about to tell you the same thing.”
28
Scarlett gripped the door’s glass handle with five white knuckles while her back pressed against it, as if she were barring it to prevent a particular person’s reentry.
“Tella, what are you doing with the heir to the throne?” Scarlett’s smile had vanished, and her voice had gone from treacle-sweetness to sour.
“I thought you liked him, from the way you kept grinning.”
“His reputation is vicious, and he’s royalty—I’ve seen his pictures all over the palace. How else was I supposed to act?” Scarlett marched back over to the bed and perched on the edge, a brilliant crimson bird about to strike. “Tella, what is going on? When Julian told me to come here earlier he made it sound as if you’d almost died, but then Jacks told me a ridiculous story about you falling from a carriage. Did he hurt you?”
“No, Jacks didn’t lay a finger on me.”
“Then tell me what happened. Julian refused to explain. He ran off, and this time I didn’t even tell him to go.”
Tella tugged at the sea-salt blue ribbons hanging off her dress, avoiding her sister’s demanding gaze. Scarlett kept looking at Tella as if she’d done something wrong. But Tella wouldn’t have been in this situation if Scarlett hadn’t been keeping secrets.
“You want to know what happened?” Tella asked. “I was out searching for you. I went by your suite after midnight, but you were gone.” Tella finally looked up. “Where were you, Scarlett?”