Finale (Caraval 3)

Julian kissed her again, sweeter this time, lips attentive and soft as he whispered words against her lips. “I’ve loved you since that night you showed up on the beach back on Trisda, thinking you could bribe me to run away without you. I could see how terrified you were when I showed up but you didn’t back down.”

“And then you kidnapped me.”

His grin turned wolfish. “That was your sister. But I have been trying to steal you ever since.” His hands kneaded her lower back as he pulled her close for another kiss.

But Scarlett startled at a noise from above.

Abruptly she looked up to see Tella staring down from the hayloft. She looked as if she’d just woken up from a very unsatisfying sleep. Her hair was full of hay, her eyes were red, and her lips were turned down.

29

Scarlett

Tella looked the way Scarlett felt right after she’d been taken by the Fallen Star. Exhausted and broken and not entirely certain what to do next.

“Scar,” Tella said, her voice rough from waking up. The uneven sound of her scrambling feet followed as she raced down the ladder from the loft. Before she reached the bottom rung, she jumped forward and tossed her arms around Scarlett. “I’m so glad you’re all right.”

“Nothing is going to happen to me.” Scarlett squeezed her sister back. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you where I was going. Meeting Nicolas was a mistake.”

The barn fell silent. All Scarlett could hear was the crackle of hay beneath Tella and Julian as they exchanged troubled looks.

“What happened?”

Tella released her sister as Julian pulled at the back of his neck.

“What happened?” Scarlett repeated.

“Nicolas is dead,” Tella said. “We think he was murdered by the Fallen Star.”

If Scarlett had been capable of feeling more emotion, her legs might have buckled, or she might have felt tears build behind her eyes for the man she’d once intended to marry. But for a heartbeat, the only colors she could see were black and white, as if her emotions were shutting off so that they didn’t consume her.

She’d never imagined her game would have ended this way.

“How do you know it was the Fallen Star?” Scarlett asked.

“Because of the way he was killed,” Julian answered, looking down. “He was burned.”

“Poor Nicolas.” Scarlett hugged her arms to her chest, wishing she could go back in time, wishing she’d forgiven Julian sooner and never rekindled things with Nicolas. The Fallen Star had undoubtedly come here looking to find her, and Nicolas had paid the price.

“How did you get away?” Tella asked. “Where have you been?”

It was tempting to make up a lie. After finally confessing her feelings to Julian, Scarlett didn’t want Julian to view her differently. And Tella looked so fragile already. Scarlett imagined a feather could have knocked her over; it might break her to learn the Fate who killed their mother was Scarlett’s birth father. But it was too dangerous of a secret to keep.

Scarlett started with the least shocking information, by telling Tella about the Reverie Key she’d been given, and how she could use it to escape anywhere. Tella perked up with a bit of awe and a hint of jealousy, which was better than fragility and fear. But Scarlett doubted her sister would have the same response to this next revelation. Scarlett still wasn’t sure how she felt about it, but she knew she couldn’t keep it to herself.

She took a deep breath. “It’s a good thing I had the key, because I didn’t actually get away. I was abducted by the Fallen Star. Tella, you were right about why the Fallen Star came here. But he wasn’t looking for both of us, just me. He’s my father.”

Scarlett half expected the ground to shake or the rickety roof to collapse at her words.

Tella’s face went bone-white, but her expression turned fierce and her hand felt warm and solid as she took Scarlett’s and squeezed tight. “You’re the same as you’ve always been, we just know more about you now. But it doesn’t change you—not unless you let it. And this news doesn’t change us, either. Even if we didn’t share any blood at all, I would still call you my sister and I would battle anyone who tried to say it wasn’t true. You are my family, Scarlett. Who your birth father is doesn’t change that.”

“I don’t see you differently either.” Julian wrapped an arm around Scarlett. But when he spoke again, his voice was tentative. “Does this make you a Fate?”

“No,” Tella said immediately. “The witch who helped the Fallen Star create the Fates said that the Fates were made, not born. And Scarlett could never be a Fate—Fates can’t love. If an immortal loves, it makes them human, and we both know how much Scarlett loves.”

“Tella’s right, I’m not a Fate,” Scarlett said. But when she tried to add a smile to her words, her voice wobbled as she thought about the Fallen Star’s threat to turn her into one. She wasn’t with him now. But her powers had been growing on their own—what if she was already on her way to becoming a Fate?

Julian’s arm tightened around her. “It’s all right, Crimson, you’re safe now. We won’t let him find you.”