Mask of Shadows (Untitled #1)(50)

“It involve me getting stabbed?”

“Probably.” He opened the door and nodded me through it. “But not by me.”

I slunk through the door, back of my neck prickling at the echo of his footsteps behind me, and Emerald cleared her throat. Amethyst set down her tea.

“New plan!” Ruby clapped his hands and tilted his head to Emerald. “Because none of us saw the alleged murder and we’re who matters—not the singular account of someone who wants the other auditioners dead and gone—Twenty-Three is on probation.”

The cup in Five’s hand cracked.

Probation. I could work with that. I’d get back to being Twenty-Three and the Left Hand would be all the more impressed for it. No hard feelings.

Ruby and I were even.

Emerald and Amethyst looked at each other. Emerald sighed, long and loud and annoyed.

“Twenty-Three will be banned from killing other auditioners and will have until tomorrow at sundown to prove his innocence—exactly like a real court of law would work.” Ruby gestured to Emerald, some secret hand signal I’d not seen them use before now, and turned back to me. “And anyone who kills Twenty-Three before then, with proof provided, will be granted immunity for one day—no one will be allowed to harm them.”

I swallowed down the shuddering fear taking root in my spine. Chin up, shoulders back. I would never let them see me tremble.

I stared down Four till he looked away.

“You’re dismissed,” Ruby said with a wave of his hand.

I slipped back outside and touched my blood-damp chin. Ruby’s words lingered. He could threaten me all he liked as long as he followed through on probation. Whoever he’d been before he was Ruby would’ve been a good person to know though. He wasn’t nice, but I was fine with that.

Except now there was a price on my head.

I’d killed Seve and gotten blamed for Six.

And if I couldn’t prove Four was lying, nothing mattered.

I’d done everything as planned, and it was all for nothing. Maud had trusted me to be Opal, and I’d let her down, not just me. I might as well be dead to Elise because I’d no chance of seeing her again.

No Opal, no Elise, no Maud, and nowhere to go that was safe.

I needed a place to hide—a place the others wouldn’t look. I sprinted from the inner circle of the grounds, through the woods and over the river, back into the buildings where we’d slept on our first night here. The guards only glanced as I raced past, and the burn in my legs overpowered the spreading panic in my chest. I need to live, and Twenty-Three wasn’t going to. I had to be someone else.

I could panic later.

Steam clouded the horizon to my left. I took off toward it, clawing my way onto the roof of a neighboring building. The little pathways and alleys around the laundry were crowded and well lit, servants scurrying about, and I circled the roof till I spotted the carts full of dirty clothes at the back of the building. I darted to the unguarded carts near the edge and fished out clothes that looked like they’d fit me. Red spotted the shirtfront and dirt hemmed the pants. I climbed back onto the safety of the roof when no one was looking.

“Thank you,” I muttered and checked the name sewn on each sleeve. “Lind.”

Noon came and went. Footsteps and laughter drifted up through the air and lulled me into an uneasy half sleep in the shade of a chimney. The other auditioners wouldn’t come here, and even if they did, none would scour every nook and cranny of these buildings to find me. I’d no way to prove I’d not killed Six and no way to find the other lords if I wasn’t Opal. A cold emptiness twined between my ribs like the ivy around Seve’s neck.

All because Four wanted me gone but not dead for some half-brained reason.

At least I could’ve fought back if he’d tried to kill me.

Except now, I had a chance to prove my worth, to prove exactly how good I was. If Ruby wanted fun, I’d give him fun.

I’d make him proud in the worst possible way.

By proving him wrong.

By surviving.

Maud would know about my probation by now, know that if I failed, she’d be back to her old job, no higher pay and no new title. I had to apologize to her for losing it if this failed.

And Elise—I needed to apologize to her for lying. I’d lied to her for nothing.

She’d be in the parlor, and I owed her the truth about who she’d been tutoring at least.





Twenty-Nine


I strolled right past the guards and servants, face bare so the auditioners wouldn’t know it was me if they were watching, and none of them spared me a second look. Getting across the Caracol bridge had been tricky, but I squared my shoulders, walked with purpose, and told the guards I’d information for the Left Hand about an auditioner while gesturing toward the blood on my shirt. They paled and let me through.

The paths were empty of auditioners. An odd, anxious fear bubbled up in my chest the closer I got to the parlor. I shook out my arms, ignoring the flash of purple in my periphery and bowing like soldiers did when Amethyst passed me by. She didn’t even spare me a glance.

Maybe Elise wouldn’t either.

“You’re early, Fifteen.” Elise didn’t look up, brush pen gliding across her paper and lips rolling into an ever more severe line. Her hair was bound today, braided tight and coiling down her back. Silver pins cluttered her dark hair like stars, and her long purple tunic glittered with silver thread. A constellation incarnate. “While I appreciate your eagerness, I’m not beginning your lesson until it’s time.”