extremely highly of himself. That wasn’t the impression she’d had of Nicolas. He’d seemed more down-to-earth. But everyone wore their disguises.
Scarlett stopped just as she stepped onto the dock. She’d felt nervous about meeting him before, but now she felt a lick of fear that warned her to turn around. She didn’t owe Nicolas anything.
Most people did not take rejection well. And it seemed especially unwise to reject Nicolas on his boat, which he could easily toss her over the side of—or sail away with her still on board.
She turned around. Scarlett wanted to be brave, but she didn’t want to be foolish.
“Scarlett? Are you Scarlett Dragna?” The voice didn’t sound like Nicolas.
Run. Hide. Scream. Her feelings turned bright warning red. She started to run.
But it was already too late.
A black bag went over her head.
“Let me go!” Scarlett tried to rip the bag off as she screamed. But her hands were yanked behind her and roughly tied together.
“Be careful with her,” a new voice commanded. “He wants his daughter undamaged.”
24
Donatella
Tella didn’t know what pure anticipation smelled like until she reached Legend’s Midnight Maze. The scent of red cloves and growing leaves permeated everything.
She had expected simple leafy green hedges, but she should have known better than to attach the word simple to anything involving Legend. Each living wall was formed of different rare flowers. Burning orange starfire lilies. Deep purple twilight thistles. Brilliant gold creeping faisies. Champagne delights. Scorching red feverbells. All of which grew and stretched with every person that stepped inside.
During her first Caraval, Tella had learned emotions were one of the things that fueled magic, making her wonder if Legend became stronger the more people enjoyed his party, and as a result, the glamour and illusion of the party also grew.
Not that Tella had seen Legend. But she’d heard a few whispers about how magnificent His Handsomeness looked tonight. Apparently, the nickname hadn’t just been part of her dream. But Tella still felt a possessive urge to snap at anyone who uttered it.
Her nerves over what Legend might ask and how she would respond attacked, knotting her up as she slipped deeper into the maze. The fireflies had arrived, making everyone she passed appear a little enchanted as their laughter and flirtations tripped over her head.
Contrary to what the name implied, the Midnight Maze did not begin at midnight. It started around sundown when the horizon was a battle of colors, as if the clouds were trying to break free from the sky. They were probably attempting to reach the maze, which was full of even more colors.
Tella wouldn’t have been surprised if some of it was Legend’s doing. With so many enthusiastic emotions swirling around the maze, his magic should have been growing stronger. Perhaps that was another reason why he’d wanted to go through with hosting the maze—he needed it to fuel his powers before the Fates finished waking up.
“Oh, look!” a nearby partygoer exclaimed. “That door just sprung up in the middle of the hedge. Let’s see if it takes us to the center of the maze.”
Tella heard a rustle of dancing skirts and a muttered “Gentlemen first.”
Then the giggling pack of people in front of her was gone, vanished through a door bursting with celestial blue dragonsnaps that disappeared along with them. Only a hovering parade of fireflies and a patch of near-silence remained. All Tella could hear was the flutter of wings, soft as dreamy lullabies and delicate as butterflies.
Her skin tickled with fluttering that she only usually felt in her stomach as she looked down to see her dress coming to life with the beat of a hundred wings. Tella laughed and butterflies burst free from a skirt that had been inanimate only moments ago.
Legend was there.
He had to be nearby. He was bringing her dress to life and making the maze shift in front of her eyes. It moved more rapidly than before, growing taller and thicker and stronger. Leafy crenulations formed at the top of it, giving everything an enchanted castle-like appearance.
She chased after the butterflies leaping off her dress until she found a glowing archway formed of dazzling white diamond peonies.
As soon as she was through the arch, the flowers moved behind her, sealing her away from the rest of the party and leaving her alone with Legend.
She took several heartbeats just to drink him in.
A dusting of bronze light surrounded him, making his skin glow and his eyes look a little brighter, as Legend leaned against