Caraval (Caraval, #1)(62)

“It’s almost too dark to see the shop. I’d hardly call this obvious.”

“Something about this is wrong,” Julian spoke under his breath. “I think I should go in alone and check it out first.”

“Maybe neither of you should go in.” Aiko suddenly appeared by Scarlett’s side. Her skirt and blouse were silver this time, with eyes and lips painted to match. Like a teardrop the moon had cried.

“I’m so glad you decided to wear that dress.” She glided closer to Scarlett, nodding in approval. “I think it looks even better than the other night.”

Julian divided a look between the girls, made of equal parts confusion and distrust. “You two know each other?”

“We went shopping together,” Aiko replied.

Julian’s expression turned to stone. “You’re the one who convinced her to buy the dresses?”

“And you must be the one who left her waiting in a tavern?” Aiko raised two appraising eyebrows threaded with pearls, though she must have already known who Julian was from the drawings in her journal. “If you didn’t want her shopping, you shouldn’t have abandoned her.”

“I don’t care if she shops,” Julian said.

“Then you don’t like her dress?”

“Excuse me,” Scarlett interrupted, “but we’re in a bit of a hurry.”

Aiko made an exaggerated point of looking the haberdashery up and down distastefully. “I recommend you both stay away from the hatter tonight. You won’t find any good deals in there.”

Thunder clapped above.

Aiko raised her head as drops of shimmering liquid fell from the sky. “I should go. I’ve never liked the rain; it washes all the magic away. I just wanted to warn you: I think you’re both about to make a mistake.”

Silver rain continued to fall while Aiko glided away.

Drops of wet clung to Julian’s dark hair as he shook his head, his expression conflicted. “You need to be careful with that one. Though I do think she’s right about this hat shop.”

Scarlett wasn’t so sure. Aiko’s dreams had given Scarlett some answers, but not all of them had been accurate. She had no idea whose side the girl was really on.

The rain fell a little harder as Scarlett marched closer to the doors of the hatter and haberdashery. Julian was right—it didn’t feel quite like Legend. There was nothing romantic or magical about it. Yet at the same time it felt like something. Scarlett had an emerald-green premonition that she would make a discovery inside.

“I’m going in,” Scarlett said. “The fifth clue requires a leap of faith. Even if this doesn’t lead me to Legend, it might take me closer to Tella.”

A bell tinkled as Scarlett pushed open the door to the unusual shop.

Peach bonnets, lime bowlers, yellow knit caps, velvet top hats, and flashy tiaras covered every inch of a domed ceiling, while pedestals of oddities sprouted up around the shop like bizarre wildflowers. There were bowls of glass shoehorns, lines of invisible thread, birdcages full of ribbons made of feathers, baskets brimming with self-threading needles, and cuff links supposedly made from leprechaun gold.

Julian trudged in after her, shaking rain from his person onto everything in sight, including the boldly dressed gentleman who stood at an angle a few feet from the door.

Even amid so many colors and fine things, this gentleman made a statement. Dressed in a deep red tailcoat and matching cravat, he looked as if he could be a decoration. The type of young man someone invited to a party just because he had a way of looking beautiful and intriguing at once. Underneath his coat, he wore a matching red vest that contrasted with both his dark shirt and snug-fitting trousers, which tucked neatly into tall silver boots. But what drew Scarlett’s attention most was his silk-trimmed top hat.

“Legend.” She gasped, her heart dropping into her stomach.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Ink-dark hair spilled across the corner of the gentleman’s forehead and grazed the tip of his black collar as he took off his top hat and set it on a display of identical-looking caps. “I’m flattered, but I think you have me confused with someone else.” He cracked an amused smile as he pivoted in Scarlett’s direction.

Beside her Julian tensed, and Scarlett froze as well. She’d seen this young man before. His face was not the kind a girl easily forgets. Long sideburns fed into a neatly trimmed beard, shaped like a work of art, outlining lips designed for dark whispers and straight white teeth perfect for biting into things.

Scarlett shuddered, but she didn’t look away. Her eyes continued to take him in, traveling upward until they reached his black eye-patch.

It was the same young man she’d seen the night her vision had gone black-and-white. He’d not noticed her then, but he watched her now. Intensely. His right eye as green as a fresh-cut emerald.

Julian edged closer, the damp of his coat sending crisp shivers over her arms. He didn’t say a word, but the look he cut toward the other young man was so clearly threatening, Scarlett swore she felt the room shift. The colors in the shop seemed to grow violently brighter.

“I don’t think he can help us,” Julian muttered.

“Help with what?” The gentleman had a slight accent that Scarlett couldn’t place. But even though Julian continued to give him murderous glances, his tone remained inviting. He looked at Scarlett almost as if he’d expected her.