Legendary

by Stephanie Garber

Legend’s magic prevents his true name from being spoken or revealed, but it can be won.’

‘You must participate in the next Caraval. If you win the game, you will come face-to-face with Legend.’

‘Legend is not the prize, but if you win Caraval, the first face you see will be Legend’s. He plans to personally give the next winner of Caraval their reward. But, be warned, winning the game will come at a cost you will later regret.’

Next time, do not agree to bargains so easily.’

There were shipwrecks more graceful than Tella.

Tella wasn’t entirely sure what the arrogant boy was doing. All her blurring eyes could see was that his shirt and coat were gone and a massive pair of inky wings stretched across the ridges of his back.

Nigel took all of Tella’s dreams, but he left her with the nightmares.

Tella was amazing; of course Death would want to keep her.

Tella had been telling Julian the truth when she’d said she didn’t enjoy lying to her sister. Unfortunately, that didn’t always prevent her from doing so. Tella kept secrets from Scarlett to protect her from worrying.

Their mother’s disappearance meant Scarlett stopped being a carefree girl at an early age and became more of a caretaker for Tella. It wasn’t fair, and Tella hated adding to the burdens her sister already carried.

You know how I feel about boys who are prettier than me.’

Caraval begins tomorrow at midnight, but as I learned during the last game, Legend puts his game pieces in place far in advance.’

‘I trust Dante even less than I trust most people, and I know better than to let myself get swept away by Caraval.’

Scarlett didn’t talk about their mother. Ever. Whenever Tella had tried to talk about Paloma, Scarlett either changed the subject or ignored her completely. Tella used to think it was too difficult for Scarlett, but now Tella thought Scarlett’s hurt had turned to hatred for the way their mother had left them.

But their mother wasn’t monstrous like their father.

Scarlett’s expression immediately changed at the sound of Julian’s voice; worry lines softened to smile lines.

The moment she opened the door Julian grinned like a pirate who’d just found his treasure.

If Scarlett played, she’d learn the truth about Armando – that he’d performed the role of her fiancé in the last Caraval – and both Julian and Tella’s lies would be exposed.

let scarlett make her own decisions about her own life challenge : failed

Even though the last game was over, her sister hadn’t fully escaped.

According to the myths, Valenda had once been the ancient city of Alcara, home of the Fates pictured inside every Deck of Destiny. They’d built the city with their magic. Magic so ancient and undiluted, even centuries after the Fates had vanished, remnants of their glowing enchantments remained, turning the hills of Valenda so bright that at night it could illuminate half the Meridian Empire.

A violet sunset cast everything in deep purple shadows and yet the world before her still glittered, from the tips of its primeval ruins, formed of crumbling columns and massive archways, to the concord waters lapping La Esmeralda.

Her fingers usually tingled upon contact, but when she touched the paper rectangle they went numb; everything went numb as Tella saw a new image. Her mother was no longer trapped behind prison bars – she was blue-lipped, pale, and dead.

Legend was not a good person to have as an enemy. But for some twisted reason the idea only made Tella want to play his game more.

She’d told her sister that she’d catch up later, yet Tella was still surprised Scarlett hadn’t waited for her.

typical

The only other passenger was a golden-haired young man Tella didn’t recognize.

Jacks?

But she suspected this young man was not one of them. He was only a few years older than her, yet he looked as if he’d spent centuries practicing disinterest.

Tella couldn’t decide if his features were too sharp to be attractive, or if he was just the sort of handsome that hurt to look at, the devastating type of lovely that would slit your throat while you were busy staring into its cold quicksilver eyes.

supposedly there was even a Church of Legend.

To Scarlett, castles were bastions of safety offering protection. Tella saw them as fancy prisons, perfect for watching, controlling, and punishing. They were larger versions of her father’s suffocating estate on Trisda, no better than a cage.

‘Could you repeat your name once more?’ ‘It’s Donatella Dragna.’ ‘I see a Scarlett Dragna.’ ‘That’s my sister.’ The woman looked up, eyes briefly darting to the guard who’d escorted Tella in. ‘Your sister might be a welcome guest, but I’m afraid I don’t have you written down. Are you certain you were invited?’

‘She’s engaged to the heir to the throne of the Meridian Empire.’

‘I found you a room, didn’t I?’ ‘You’ve also given me a bad-tempered fiancé.’

‘It seems we have an available suite in Elantine’s golden tower.’ Tella swallowed a gasp. Maybe Dante had done her a favor after all.

yeah he didn't

Tella might have said she’d never dream of letting a boy enter her room, but it was probably best not to pile too many lies on top of each other or they might all come tumbling down.

Contrary to the stories, the inside of the tower wasn’t golden; it was old. Even the air smelled archaic, full of forgotten stories and bygone words.

‘I don’t care what he looks like. He’s a murderer. Everyone knows there were seventeen people between him and Empress Elantine’s throne. Then one by one all the other heirs died in horrific ways.’

In the tense silence Tella thought she heard Death’s rasping laugh. It grated like rusty metal sawing into bone. The same exact sound had greeted her as she’d plunged from that awful balcony during Caraval. A gruesome welcome to a hideous kingdom.

Night and his mistress the moon were both out to play when Tella reached the starlit stone garden,

She liked the thrill that came with taking risks. She loved the feeling of doing something bold enough to make her future hold its breath while she closed her eyes and reveled in the sensation that she’d made a choice with the power to alter the course of her life. It was the closest she ever came to holding real power.

‘I thought you were interested in the prudish sister.’ Tella’s hand worked on instinct, pulling back and slapping Armando across his face. ‘You don’t get to talk about my sister, ever.’ Armando lifted a gloved hand to his purpling jaw. ‘I wish you’d given me that warning an hour ago. Your sister slaps even harder than you do.’

‘Every good story needs a villain.’

The air tasted like wonder. Like candied butterfly wings caught in sugared spiderwebs, and drunken peaches coated in luck.

‘Welcome, welcome to Caraval, the grandest show by land or by sea. Inside you may come face to face with a Fate, or steal bits of destiny—’ ‘It’s all right,’ Tella cut in.

too cocky for her own good

‘I’ve already heard it. You can skip it and hand us the first clue.’ ‘Maybe you just think you’ve heard it.’ Jovan jingled the bells on her shoes. ‘This greeting is a little different from last time.’ She cleared her throat before reciting the rest from memory.

exactly

‘Every performance is different. When your sister played, we had to work at making everything seem more dangerous than it was, because it was only a game.’ Tella snorted. ‘If you’re trying to tell me it’s real this time, it’s not going to work. I’ve already heard the whole speech about not being swept too far away.’ ‘But have you heard it tonight?’

As fantastical as Caraval might feel, the next five nights are very real.

The boy from the sky carriage – the same indolent young nobleman who’d threatened to toss her from a coach, and dropped a half-eaten apple onto her slippers – flashed a delinquent smile. ‘You can call me Jacks.’

This had to be a mistake. Tella’s friend was supposed to be a lowly criminal who dealt in secrets, not the unpredictable and murderous heir to the throne, who, from the pitch of his voice, did not sound inclined to forgive her for her failure.

Jacks’s fingers tensed as they entered. Briefly Tella imagined he didn’t like cages either, but it was far more likely he was trying to keep her from running off.

In front of her Jacks seemed to glow. His skin had been pale but now it appeared otherworldly in its radiance.