the curious animal was real. But it was the way he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off of her in the dream that had given her the real thrill.
“Stop trying to distract me,” Tella said. “And take the illusion off my dress. I don’t want to be your next Esmeralda.”
Legend’s smile vanished. “You and Esmeralda—”
“Don’t tell me we’re not alike,” Tella said. “I already got that impression from spying on you.”
His eyes clouded over. “Then why are you upset?”
“You deceived her. You took all of her magic. Then you kidnapped her!”
Legend’s expression didn’t change, but behind him the fire blazed hotter and brighter, shifting from orange to scorching red. “If you knew her, you wouldn’t feel sorry for her, Tella. She isn’t innocent. I collected her so she could pay for her crimes. Esmeralda is ancient. She used to be the Fallen Star’s consort, and before she trapped him and his Fates in the cards, she helped the Fallen Star create the Fates. She’s responsible for their existence, and the Temple of the Stars wants to make her face trial for that.”
“What does that have to do with you?” Tella asked.
“You might remember that I made a deal with the temple.” Legend removed his jacket, took out a cufflink, and folded back one of his black shirtsleeves.
It might have looked as if he were doing it because of the sweltering heat from the fire, except as he moved, Tella caught a glimpse of the brand on the underside of his wrist.
The mark was not nearly as brutal as the first time Tella had seen it seared into his skin. It was now so faint she could barely detect it, as if it were healing and disappearing. But she still remembered what it had looked like before—and what it signified. The Temple of the Stars had branded Legend in exchange for allowing Tella to enter the vault where her mother had hidden the cursed Deck of Destiny trapping the Fates.
“I vowed to the temple that I would bring them the witch who helped created the Fates. When I did, I swore it on my immortality. If I hadn’t delivered Esmeralda to them, I would have died that night, and nothing would have brought me back to life this time. I know you’re angry with me right now, but I’d hope you wouldn’t want me dead.”
Of course she didn’t want him dead. Just thinking Legend was in trouble had driven Tella to chase him into another world. But saying that felt like giving too much away when he still wasn’t giving anything away.
When Legend had first accepted the brand from the Temple of the Stars, in Tella’s place, it had felt like such a great sacrifice on his part. But knowing the lengths Legend was willing to go to in order to get what he wanted, Tella was no longer sure if he’d made the bargain to prevent her from being owned by the temple, or if he had gone through with it to ensure she’d enter the vault and retrieve the cards for him.
She wanted to think he’d done it for her, but she still wasn’t certain, and right now that wasn’t what mattered. He might have given her answers about the witch, but he still hadn’t given her the answers that she wanted most.
“Is that why you won’t tell me your weakness?” she asked. “Have you actually thought I wanted you dead? You think I’d use your weakness against you?”
He looked into the fire, avoiding her gaze. “The weakness I share with the Fallen Star won’t do us any good when it comes to defeating him.”
“Since when do you care about good?”
“I don’t—” Legend broke off. His eyes shot past her, as if he’d heard a noise outside of their illusion.
Whatever it was, Tella couldn’t see where it came from until a door appeared on the wall next to the fire, and Armando stepped through it.
Tella cringed away, moving closer to the fireplace, and to Legend.
Armando was the performer who’d played the role of her sister’s fiancé during the sisters’ first Caraval. Tella couldn’t stand the sight of his smug smile, his calculating green eyes, and the irritating way he tapped his fingers against the blade he wore at his hip. Like Jovan, he was also dressed like a member of Legend’s guard, in a navy military coat with a shining line of golden buttons.