Finale (Caraval 3)

“It’s all right,” Scarlett said. “I’m sure you’re very busy with whatever Legend has you doing.” Her gaze flickered once more to the mysterious bandage around his arm and then up to his eyes, which still declined to meet hers. “It’s nice of you to stop by. It’s good to see you.” She itched to say so much more, but she could hear the carriage horses neighing outside. Scarlett needed to leave before she mucked things up with Nicolas. “I’d love to chat, but unfortunately I was about to step out.”

Julian shoved away from the display cabinet. “If you’re going to enjoy the festival, I’ll join you.” It was the polite statement of a friend. But Scarlett’s feelings for Julian had always been too strong for friendship, even when she’d first met him and hadn’t liked him at all. Scarlett and Julian could never just be friends. She needed more from him, or she needed him to let her go.

“I’m not going to the festival,” Scarlett said. “I’m finally going to meet Nicolas.”

Julian’s expression fell. It only lasted a moment. If Scarlett had torn her eyes from him for a second, she would have missed it. Almost as soon as he heard what she said, Julian walked past her to the boardinghouse front door. She expected him to leave, to let her go and close the door on them completely.

Instead he opened it with an oddly pleasant smile. “That’s perfect,” he said, cheerful, as if she’d just told him they were having coconut cake for dinner. “I can be your chaperone.”

“I don’t need a chaperone.”

“Do you already have one?”

Scarlett glared. “You and I never had one.”

“Exactly.” With a smug grin, he swaggered past her to the idling carriage and opened that door as well. But rather than wait for her to enter, Julian slipped into the coach.

Scarlett’s emotions were searing as she entered the coach and took the seat across from him. Julian might have started dressing like a gentleman, but he was still behaving like a scoundrel. She’d have understood his frustrating behavior if he’d made any effort to contact her over the past five weeks, or if he’d tried to fight for her after she’d told him that she wanted to give Nicolas another chance as well, but it seemed all Julian wanted to do was fight against her.

“You’re trying to sabotage this,” she accused.

“I’d say I’d never do that, but that would be a lie.” Julian lounged back in his seat, spreading out the way young men always seemed to. Since the streets of Valenda weren’t made for coaches, this box was particularly narrow, with barely enough room for the two of them. But Julian stretched his arms across the brocade cushions, and kicked out his legs to take up more than half the space.

Scarlett grabbed one of his knees, knocked it into the other, and pointed toward the door as the carriage began to rumble down the road. “Get out, Julian.”

“No.” His arms dropped from the cushion and he leaned forward. “I’m not leaving, Crimson. We’ve spent enough time apart.” He placed his hand on top of hers and pressed it firmly to his knee.

Scarlett tried to pull away, but it was in the halfhearted way someone did something when they were actually hoping someone would stop them.

And Julian did. He slipped his brown fingers between hers and held on tighter than he ever had, as if making up for all the weeks he hadn’t been able to touch her. “While I was gone, I tried to remember every word you ever said to me. I’ve thought about you every hour of every day I was away.”

Scarlett fought the urge to smile. It was everything she had wanted to hear. But Julian had always excelled at knowing what to say. It was following through where he fell apart. “Then why didn’t you write?”

“You told me you wanted space to meet your count.”

“I didn’t want that much space. For five weeks I heard nothing from you. I thought that you’d forgotten about me or moved on.” She tried not to sound too accusing or too desperate. She felt as if she’d failed at both, and yet Julian’s earnest expression didn’t waver. His eyes were the prettiest shade of brown, and warmer than the light slipping through the carriage windows.

“I won’t ever move on, Crimson.” He took her hand and brought it to his heart.

Scarlett’s heart beat wild and uneven in response, but Julian’s remained steady and unwavering beneath her palm.

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I gave you space, because I thought that’s what you needed. But I realized as soon as I saw you today that I was wrong. So I’m in this carriage with you now, ready to go wherever you’re going, even if it means watching you with another man.”

Scarlett crashed back to reality. For a moment she’d forgotten about Nicolas.

“What if I don’t want you to watch me with another man?” she said.

“I’m not thrilled about the idea, either.” Julian’s tone turned teasing, but his fingers tensed as the carriage rattled over a bumpy road. They were nearing the edge of the city, and drawing closer to Nicolas’s estate.

“If you really want me to leave, I’ll get out of this coach and walk back to the palace,” Julian said. “But you should know that I’m also here because I don’t trust this count.”

“Do you trust me?” Scarlett said.

“With my life. But I’ve met your father and I have a difficult time putting faith in anyone who would make a deal with him.”

“Nicolas isn’t like that.”

When Scarlett had first written Nicolas a