“You, my dear, are lovely.” Elantine smiled and it was luminous, as if she’d been saving up grins to meet Tella. The expression lit up Her Majesty’s entire face, making the golden diadem atop her head and the jewels lining her royal-blue cloak shine even brighter.
Tella dropped into a curtsy. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty. Jacks has told me a great deal about you.”
“Has he told you how he plans to kill me?”
Tella choked on a gasp.
“Don’t look so frightened. I’m only joking! Jacks is my favorite heir so far.” Elantine winked and folded Tella tightly into her arms.
Because of her nana Anna, who’d been slender as a tree branch, Tella had always thought of older people as fragile, breakable things, but Elantine hugged fiercely, warm and careless enough to wrinkle her immaculate garments.
After releasing Tella, Elantine embraced Jacks as well. She even ruffled his head as if he were a little boy. “You’d be so handsome if you put just the tiniest effort into your appearance.”
To Tella’s astonishment Jacks actually blushed; his skin was more blue than red, but it was definitely there. She didn’t know it was possible to fake a blush—there was no way he could have genuinely been embarrassed by her fussing—yet his pale cheeks turned a little blue. After a heartbeat he added a lopsided grin, no doubt to make the empress believe that even though he was shy, he appreciated her attentions. It was disturbing how good he was at this charade.
The empress beamed, but it quickly faded. “You look too thin, Jacks. I hope you’ll eat more than an apple tonight.” Elantine turned back to Tella. “You’ll have to make sure he eats enough. People are always trying to poison my dear Jacks, so he never munches on a thing at my little banquets. But hopefully he’ll enjoy himself tonight. I’ve ordered a feast fit for—well, me.”
Elantine laughed as she directed Jacks and Tella toward the table towering with food. Every dish imaginable, from honeycomb towers with edible flowers to a candied pig with an apple in its mouth, was present. There were miniature fruit trees growing chocolate-dipped plums and brown-sugar-glazed peaches. Wedges of cheese peeking out of miniature treasure chests made of pastry. Upside-down turtle shells filled with soup. Finger sandwiches shaped like actual fingers. Colorful plates of salted pink and red radishes. Water with lavender bubbles, and peach-colored wine with berries at the bottom of the glass.
“You’ll notice there are no servants. I wanted this to be an intimate affair to get to know you.” Elantine sat at the head of the table. There were only two additional chairs both facing the theatrical stage at the other end of the room. The wooden arch above it was carved with images of unadorned oval masks, frowning and grinning and scowling and laughing and making a variety of other odd faces as they looked down at the closed fairy tale–green curtain below.
“Now, tell me about yourself,” said the empress. “Jacks says you’re in Valenda searching for your missing mother?”
Tella opened her mouth to reply as she sat but rather than allow it, Elantine continued reciting an impressively long list of the other things Jacks had said about Tella. The empress even knew Tella’s birthday was coming up and promised to throw her a little party.
“Jacks also tells me you have a fixation with the Fates. I used to have a special Deck of Destiny myself, a long time ago. It never seemed to predict good things.” She laughed again.
The sound surprised Tella almost as much as it had the first time. She’d not expected Her Majesty to be so good-humored. Or to love Jacks so very much. She either nodded or laughed at whatever he said, and piled food on his plate as if he were a child, though Tella noticed Jacks did not touch any of it. He plucked the apple from the pig’s mouth, but he didn’t eat that, either. He just rolled it around the palm of one hand.
Then his other hand was on Tella’s neck, his cold fingers idly playing with her hair. It was for show, but it felt so unpracticed. As if it was the most natural thing for him to reach out and touch her. She swore she felt his gaze as well, as cool as morning frost; it brushed against her mouth as Jacks watched every bite she took.
“You both must try some of these.” Elantine pointed to a tray of palm-size cakes decorated to look like presents in every combination of colors. From tangerine and teal to silver and sea frost, the color of Jacks’s eyes.
“These are a traditional engagement dish exclusively for royalty. Only the royal baker will make them. It’s illegal for anyone else to commission them. There’s a different surprise in each one that symbolizes what your future together will hold. Some are filled with sugared cream to represent a sweet life, and others are filled with candied eggs symbolizing great fertility.” Elantine winked again and Tella nearly spit out her water.
Jacks, who had not eaten a thing since his apple on the stairs, plucked a jeweled cake covered in blue velvet frosting, the same color of Tella’s dress, and brought it to his mouth. When he pulled it away thick raspberry jam oozed out.
Elantine clapped. “It looks as if the two of you will always have passion. Now your turn, dear heart.”
Tella was never going to marry Jacks—she’d rather be trapped inside of a card—so it shouldn’t have mattered which cake she chose. But she really didn’t want to take a cake. There were enough predictions of her future as it was. Both Jacks and the empress were staring at her, though. This wasn’t a request; this was a challenge.
“Interesting,” Elantine murmured.
Tella looked down to find her fingers had plucked a soulless jet-black cake with a bow made of midnight-blue frosting—the same color as the wings tattooed on Dante’s back.
“It reminded me of the moonless night I met Jacks,” Tella lied.
“Oh, I wasn’t talking about the cake.” Elantine fixed her regal gaze upon the starburst-shaped opal ring on Tella’s finger. “I haven’t seen one of those in a very long time.”
“It was an heirloom of my mother’s,” Tella said.
“And she gave it to you?” Elantine said it just as warmly as everything else that evening, but Tella swore her eyes were now pinched at the corners, as if her smile was no longer genuine. “Did she tell you what it was for?”
“No, it was just one of the few things left behind when she disappeared.”
“And you wear it to remember her?” Elantine’s expression softened. “You really are a little gem. When Jacks first told me he was engaged again, I was skeptical. I feared—well, it doesn’t matter what I feared. I can now see why he would want you. But be careful with that heirloom of yours.” Her tone hushed to a whisper. “That looks like one of the keys from the Temple of the Stars, and, if it is, your mother must have paid a very high price for it.”
Tella’s eyes fell back to her hand. It seemed unbelievable, but the hopelessly hopeful part of her wondered if the ring she’d worn for the past seven years could be a key to unlocking her mother’s secrets.
“Pardon the interruption,” a raspy voice called out from the stage.
Tella looked up to see Armando dressed like the Murdered King—a Fate that could either represent betrayal or the return of something lost. He smiled at his small audience, the expression as chilling as his costume. A dripping red sword hung from his waist, a thick gash of blood stained his exposed throat, and a wicked crown made of daggers sat atop his head. “What a pleasure it is to be here tonight.”
30
Half the candles dangling from the ceiling blew out, leaving the banquet table in shadows. Only Armando and the stage remained aglow.
“Oh, good!” Elantine clapped. “The entertainment is about to begin.”
“Thank you for having us, Your Majesty.” Armando bowed low, surprisingly humble. “Since your coronation it has been Legend’s greatest wish to bring his Caraval performers to Valenda. We are deeply grateful you accepted his offer. To honor Your Majesty tonight, we have put together a very special performance to show what life was like when rulers were not so wise and gracious. We hope you all enjoy it.”
The curtains parted.