Finale (Caraval #3)(101)

The lady setting up a display of ribbons dropped a spool. A plump woman who’d been about to step into the back snapped around. And the young girl who’d been spinning in front of a mirror froze.

“Hello, Minerva,” Paradise called to the plump one who’d been about to leave. “Is my order ready?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, darling.”

“Yes, you do. Gavriel ordered a dress for me. It’s supposed to be a surprise, but I found out about it, so I plan to surprise him instead.” Paradise clutched her chest dramatically, reminding Scarlett a bit of Tella. “I’m going to wear it tonight and ask Gavriel to marry me.”

“You’re asking a man to marry you?” cried the girl who’d been spinning. “That’s forward.”

“I’d rather be forward than backward.” Paradise spoke far faster than Scarlett, as if she wanted to cram as much as possible into every moment of life, an observation that Scarlett tucked away for her performance. “In my line of work, life is often very short, so I don’t want to waste any of it waiting for a question that I could easily ask myself. I’m also rather certain he’s going to say yes.” She winked.

Even from Scarlett’s position behind the hats she could see the head of the young twirling girl exploding with thoughts. Her brief conversation with Paradise had just splintered the way she viewed the world, opening up a door that the girl hadn’t even known existed.

“But,” Paradise added, “if he’s afraid of marriage, or of me, I’ll know it’s time to move on.”

“To Marcello Dragna?” said the lady with the ribbons. “He’s very handsome and rich.”

“Then you should marry him.” Paradise laughed. “He’d probably be much happier with you than he’d be with me. Marcello only thinks he could handle me. I believe he wants to tame me, like a caged tiger at a circus, so he can show off to his friends.”

“That sounds sort of like what you’re trying to do with Gavriel,” mused Minerva.

“No, I like Gavriel outside of his cage, and I don’t have any friends to show off to, except for you, Minerva.”

Minerva muttered something too low for Scarlett to hear before slipping back into the door she’d been about to go through as Paradise had entered. A moment later she reappeared with a creation in her hands that was far too extravagant to be called a gown. It was a riot of cream and black and rose and pink with splashes of flowers and lace and stray gold leaf. Long sleeves attached to a decorative bodice that was fitted through the hips, until the skirt flared out in ruffled tiers that ended in a train of gold and rose flowers with lacy black leaves.

It didn’t look like Scarlett’s idea of love, but she could see how it could have been her mother’s, and Gavriel’s.

Paradise gasped. “It’s sublime.”

“Each of these layers can be easily removed with a quick tug, if you need to run.”

“Or if I want to have some fun with Gavriel,” chimed Paradise.

The twirling girl turned red as berries, the lady with the ribbons broke out in a laugh, but Minerva didn’t crack a smile. She looked as wary as Scarlett was feeling.

Scarlett knew her mother went on to marry Marcello Dragna, not Gavriel. But the entire exchange still left Scarlett with a deep, heavy feeling of dread as the conversation between the women ended. The ill feeling remained with Scarlett as she followed Paradise from the dress shop back into another icy alley.

Scarlett had no love for Marcello, but as much as Scarlett hated him, if Paradise never married him, then Tella would never be born. Scarlett quickened her steps as her mother disappeared around the corner.

Scarlett knew she wasn’t supposed to interfere. The Assassin had warned her not to change—

Her back slammed against a brick wall of a dead-end street, as Paradise placed a knife to Scarlett’s throat.

She fought to take a ragged breath. Seeing Paradise like this was like peering in a threatening mirror. This was the mother Scarlett had originally expected to meet. But she couldn’t feel triumphant about it; if this encounter went the wrong way it could destroy the entire future Scarlett knew, or end Scarlett’s life.

“What’s a pretty little girl like you doing following—” Paradise cut off abruptly. She must have seen the resemblance as well, though her response was to hold the blade closer to Scarlett’s throat.

“Who are you? Why are you trying to look like me?” She spoke even faster than she had in the shop. “Tell me in the next ten seconds or I’ll slit your throat and walk away before your body hits the snow. One. Two. Three.”

“I’m not here to hurt you,” Scarlett said.

“Not the right answer.” Paradise flashed a vicious grin. “Four. Five.”

“I’m here because your family is in danger.”

“Don’t have a family,” she sang. “Seven. Eight.”

“Yes, you do, in the future.”

Paradise didn’t even bother to respond to this claim. “Nine.”

“You have a daughter,” Scarlett said. “You’re pregnant with her right now!”

Paradise stopped counting.

“How did you know that? I’ve only told one person that, and he wouldn’t say a word.” Her eyes narrowed on Scarlett and then went wide. “Where did you get those earrings?” She dropped the box she’d been holding and touched her own ears, where a matching pair of jeweled baubles rested.