“I don’t know about that,” Scarlett muttered.
“I do,” Tella said. “You might not have been able to see me during the game, but I snuck out to watch you a couple of times. Even when you didn’t pass the tests, I knew you would still be able to save me.”
“Tests?” Scarlett asked.
“Legend insisted we put you through a few trials. He promised he could provide a bit of magic, but you had to want the wish enough, or it wouldn’t happen at the end of the game. That’s why the woman in the dress shop asked you what you desired most.”
“But I failed that test.”
“You didn’t fail all of them. You passed the most important one, and that was enough. If you hadn’t, I wasn’t supposed to jump.”
Scarlett remembered what Caspar had said as he made her walk to the edge of the balcony. If you’re not willing to do this, you’ll never be able to save her.
“Please, don’t be mad.” Tella’s heart-shaped mouth pulled into a frown. “I did this for both of us. Like you said, Father would hunt me to the ends of the earth if I ran away.”
“But not if you died,” Scarlett finished.
Tella nodded grimly. “The night we left, I planted a pair of tickets for him, with a note from Legend saying Father could find us at Caraval.”
Scarlett took a shaky breath as she pictured Tella sneaking into their father’s study. Scarlett was still tempted to scold her sister for devising such a dangerous and horrible plot, but for the first time Scarlett could see how much she’d always underestimated Tella. Her younger sister was brighter, smarter, and braver than Scarlett ever gave her credit for.
“You could have told me,” Scarlett said.
“I wanted to.” Tella cautiously stepped around the chair, until the sisters were face-to-face. She’d changed out of the ruined dress she’d died in; she now wore white—a ghostly shade of it, and Scarlett wondered if she’d chosen the gown for that very reason. As if a little more drama was needed.
“You have no idea how hard it was not to say anything before we left Trisda, and when we were up in that balcony, I was scared to dea—I was nervous. But part of the bargain was I couldn’t say a word. Legend told me it would put too much pressure on you; he said you might fail out of fear. And that blackguard likes his games.” Tella’s expression soured.
Scarlett got the impression this game was also more than Tella had bargained for. Not surprising, given everything Scarlett had learned about Legend.
“So this really had nothing to do with Nana Anna?”
Tella nodded. “They did have a romance. It’s true that it didn’t end well because she chose another man, but Legend never vowed to destroy all the females in her line. After Nana went to the Conquered Isles to marry Grandfather, a rumor started that she’d fled there to hide because Legend wanted revenge, but that’s not entirely true either. I’m fairly certain lots of women have warmed his bed since then.”
Scarlett thought about Rosa, and everything Tella had written in her letters. Even though Legend hadn’t vowed to destroy her nana, it seemed his broken heart had ruined at least one other woman. Scarlett also imagined Legend toyed with her and Tella more than he might have because they were Annalise’s granddaughters.
She would have asked more questions, but though she remained curious about Legend, she could no longer ignore the sharp pain of another death that still weighed heavy on her thoughts.
“I need to know about Julian.”
Tella chewed on the corner of her lip. “I was wondering when you were going to ask about him.”
“What does that mean?” Scarlett’s words came out rough. She wanted to ask more, but she still could not bring herself to question if he was truly alive or dead. Ever since Tella walked in, Scarlett had dared to hope Julian wasn’t really dead. But Tella’s expression turned unreadable, making Scarlett fear she’d only get one happy ending today. “Did you know he was going to die?”
Tella nodded slowly. “That might have actually been my fault.”
Scarlett paled, falling into a chair. “You had him killed.”
“Please don’t be upset. I was trying to protect you.”
“By having him murdered?”
“He’s not really dead,” Tella promised.
“Then where is he?” Scarlett looked around as if he’d suddenly walk through the door. But when it didn’t open, and Tella frowned, some of Scarlett’s panic returned. “If he’s alive, then why didn’t he come here with you?”
“If you calm down, I’ll explain it all.” Tella’s voice contained the slightest tremor. “Before the game began, I told Legend I didn’t want anyone making you fall in love. I knew how much you wanted to marry the count. I never liked the idea, but I wanted you to choose another path for your own reasons, not because of a Caraval player who was pretending to be someone else. So …” Tella paused, drawing the word out before rushing on to say, “I told Legend, if that happened, I wanted the player taken out of the game before it ended, and you made your final choice regarding your fiancé. I can see now how misguided that was. But I swear, I was trying to protect your heart.”
“You shouldn’t have—”
“You don’t need to say it.” Tella rocked back on her heels, frowning again. “I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes. In my head, I saw it all playing out differently. I didn’t realize how unpredictable Legend is. He was supposed to take Julian out of the game earlier, and I never imagined Legend would actually have him killed in front of you.”