Finale (Caraval, 3)

As Tella went into the guest quarters and tried to wash off all the dirt and sorrow and lingering traces of guilt from her person, Scarlett stood under a wedge of moonlight, preparing for another good-bye that she didn’t want to have.

Julian appeared to feel the same way. His brow furrowed, his lips were pressed tightly together, and when he wrapped his arms around Scarlett, there was nothing soft or tender in his touch. “I know you said this isn’t my choice, but you can’t tell me that you’ve chosen me and then give me absolutely no say in your life.”

“Is this your way of asking me again not to go?”

“No.” He held her closer, tucking her head to his chest. “In the future—because there will be a future for us—I just hope you can talk to me about things like this rather than telling me you’ve already made up your mind.”

“All right,” Scarlett conceded. “But I hope you do the same?”

“I wouldn’t ask it of you if I wasn’t planning on that.” Julian’s fingers clutched her waist, as if he could still find a way that didn’t involve letting her go.

Scarlett wished he could. She really didn’t want to go back to the Fallen Star. But in that moment, she was more worried about Julian. Like Tella, he was impulsive and ruled by his emotions, which Scarlett could see were gray as storm clouds and full of worry.

“What if I try to slip you letters every few days? I don’t think it will be safe to visit again.” And she didn’t think it would be safe to send him messages either, but she worried that if she couldn’t find a way to assure him she was all right, he would come after her eventually and put himself in danger. “I can open a door with the Reverie Key to send you notes to let you know I’m all right.”

“I still don’t like it,” Julian said.

“If you did, my feelings would probably be injured.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and for a moment his lips stayed there. “Be careful, Crimson.”

“I’m always careful.”

“I don’t know…” He pulled away just enough for her to see his mouth twitch at the corner. “A careful girl wouldn’t say she loved me.”

“You’re wrong. I don’t think my heart could be safer than in your hands.” But even as she said it, her heart felt heavy.

Julian’s mouth was still forming half a smile, but his eyes were expressing something else. Scarlett always loved his eyes—they were brown and warm and full of all the emotion that drove him. Julian wasn’t always honest, but his eyes were, and right then he was looking at her as if he was afraid the next time he saw her she wouldn’t be the same.

“I’m going to come back to you,” she promised.

“That’s not the only thing I’m worried about.” His voice was hoarse. “I’ve spent most of my life around magic—my brother’s magic has brought me back to life more times than I can count. I’ve tried to walk away, but magic like that is difficult to leave. I know right now you think that if you can conquer your powers, you can control the Fallen Star, but your magic might end up controlling you instead.”

His eyes left hers to glance over her enchanted dress before landing on the Fated key in her hand. It shimmered silver-bright in the dusky light.

She hadn’t even realized she’d already taken it from her pocket. Relying on the key was becoming a habit, just like wearing her enchanted dress. But she didn’t want to depend on it, she only wanted to master it enough so that she could make the Fallen Star love her and turn him into a mortal. Then she’d be content to never use it again.

“You don’t have to worry about me.” Scarlett lifted her head and quickly gave Julian another kiss, wishing she could say more, but knowing it was past the time to return.

When she’d first used the key, she hadn’t planned on going back, so she’d not thought about how much time was passing. She hoped the Fallen Star wouldn’t pay another visit so soon. She also worried about the Lady Prisoner waking up.

After turning the Reverie Key, Scarlett kept her steps light. But once she entered her room in the Menagerie, she knew things were not as she’d left them.

The Lady Prisoner was awake, swinging silently on her perch as her lavender skirts brushed the polished floor of her gilded cage. “If you’re going to sneak out, you shouldn’t leave for so long. And don’t look so surprised; did you really think I didn’t know?” She affected a soft snore.

“Why pretend?” Scarlett asked.

“Because I knew you wouldn’t leave if you thought I was awake. But you need to be wiser.” Her voice turned whisper-soft and her inhuman eyes shifted from purple to white, as they had earlier that night. “Leaving here for hours at a time will get you caught with that key far sooner than you’re supposed to be.”