Legendary (Caraval #2)(101)
“I am. But I’m giving Nicolas a chance as well.”
“Nicolas? You’re now on a first-name basis with your former fiancé?” Tella desperately hoped her sister was joking, paying Tella back for all the secrets that she’d kept. Though if this was all true, the strained looks Scarlett and Jacks had shared in the garden now made sense. “Is this the person you asked Jacks to help you find?”
“Jacks told you I asked for his help?” Scarlett sounded surprised, as if she actually trusted the Prince of Hearts.
“I saw you step out of the same carriage as him the other night,” Tella said.
Scarlett brought her hands to her cheeks, covering her increasing blush. “I found him after you told me he’d been able to locate our mother. I’d been searching for Nicolas on my own, but I’d had no luck. And going to Jacks for help gave me an excuse to interrogate him about his intentions with you. Not that he was honest about anything.”
“I don’t think either of us can criticize anyone for being dishonest,” Tella snapped.
“I planned to tell you about Nicolas, but I was waiting for the right time.” Scarlett shot a look at their mother, a silent reminder that Scarlett was not the only one with secrets. “I wouldn’t have kept this from you, but I know you never liked him.”
“I still don’t. Exchanging letters with him is a mistake.”
“Don’t worry,” Scarlett said. “I’m not planning on marrying him. But I’d appreciate if you didn’t mention that to Julian. I think a little rivalry might be good for him.”
“So that’s what this is about?” Tella was more than a little stunned. “You want a competition between the count and Julian?”
“I wouldn’t call it a competition,” Scarlett said. “I don’t plan on giving either of them tasks to complete. But how can I truly know Julian is right for me if I have no one else to compare him to? I thought you’d be proud of me. You’re the one who always wanted me to make my own decisions.” Scarlett grinned, as sly as a cat who’d just learned to sneak out of a house and explore the world beyond.
Tella always thought her sister had underestimated her—but maybe she was the one who had underestimated Scarlett.
Tella still didn’t like the idea of the count. Even though she no longer trusted what the Aracle had shown her, she had a horrible feeling when it came to Count Nicolas d’Arcy. His letters had always seemed a little too perfect. He was the dictionary definition of a gentleman; no one was that polished in real life. Either he was terribly dull or a fraud. And yet, despite her reservations, Tella was proud of her sister for making such a bold choice. “Scarlett, I—”
Bells. Long and low and sorrowful bells rang across the palace.
Tella shuddered at the tragic sound, instantly forgetting whatever she’d been saying as the bells continued to cry. These were not clocks striking the hour. These were mourning bells, wailing out a song of loss.
In the bed, Tella’s mother stirred. She didn’t wake from her cursed slumber, but the bells had clearly disturbed her. In between the somber tune Tella heard a flurry of activity in the hall. Rushing footsteps. Chattering voices. More than a few unbridled sobs. And she knew.
Empress Elantine had died.
Tella had only met the empress twice, but she felt a surprising surge of emotion at the thought of her life ending, of her body going slack and her eyes closing forever.
Scarlett must not have been so certain, or she must have had no idea. She rose from her seat and opened the door right as a servant scurried by. “What’s all the commotion?”
“Her Majesty passed away,” the servant confirmed. “They’re saying the new heir—her missing child—is now making his first appearance from the golden tower. Everyone is going into the glass courtyard to see. You can probably view the tower from your window.”
The maid darted off and Tella crossed the room to part the curtains of the largest window wider. Light streamed in, honey-thick and bright. The sun had made its way out from behind the clouds at last and seemed to be making up for the lazy job it had done that afternoon. With the mourning bells still ringing, it felt wrong for it to be shining so brightly, beaming over the entire courtyard, which was indeed filling with people.
“I can’t believe the empress is dead,” Scarlett said.
“You would have liked her,” Tella murmured. “She gave hugs the way I’d always wished our nana Anna had.”
“Nana actually gave you hugs?”
“Once,” Tella said. “Trust me, you weren’t missing anything.”
Tella had not cried when her nana Anna had died. Although the woman had made a little effort to raise her, Tella never felt any affection toward her. But Tella had liked the empress. Their acquaintance had been brief, but Elantine had shifted Tella’s course; if their paths had never crossed, Tella’s mother might still be trapped in a card.
Tella craned her neck as she looked past the glass courtyard toward the golden tower. Every window and balcony was open; from them maids and servants tossed black flower petals onto the gathering crowd below. The grim tribute was even sadder than the bells.
Only one balcony failed to rain down any flowers. Instead, this terrace flew royal-blue flags with the Meridian Empire’s bold white crest. In the center of it stood one figure.