Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
chapter twenty-five / dirty rotten scoundrels ❛ my thoughts will echo your name ❜
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Kaz glued his eyes on Eulalie as she gazed out the carriage's window at the wintery landscape that befell them. They were nearing Istamere, and Eulalie had already given him a mask to wear to the ball, though she'd told him he didn't have to dance with her. She just wanted to keep an eye on him. Kaz predicted this after his last failed attempt at stealing the gold.
"This is ridiculous," Kaz muttered, tracing the simple black satin mask with his thumb. He didn't look back up at Eulalie, but he could tell he didn't amuse her.
"This wouldn't be happening if you had followed directions," Eulalie snarled as the carriage came to a stop. She leaned forward, placing a hand on the door. "There will be plenty of champagne, and we don't have to dance. You do, however, have to stay in the same room as me." She grabbed Kaz's shoulder, bringing him so close that he could feel her breath on his face. "If I don't see you, I will personally throw you off the cliffs and watch your mangled limbs twitch as you take your final breath. Are we clear?"
Kaz wanted to laugh at her, but he stayed silent and only nodded in agreement. He would let her believe she had the upper hand, even if she didn't. The carriage's door opened, and Eulalie stepped out with the assistance of the footman. Kaz put his mask on, typing the satin ribbon behind his head. He tried not to catch a glimpse of his reflection in the sandglass window. He turned to watch Jesper and Wylan set out of the carriage as well with masks of their own.
The carriages glistened silver in the moonlight. Engraved white-gold ivy vines wound around the door and the Downing Kraken above it. Did they respect the creature, or did they fear it?
"Kaz!" Eulalie called over the interlocking conversations that swept through the courtyard. She beckoned him to get close.
Kaz reluctantly followed but didn't dare take her hand, which was also gloved in navy satin, and went halfway up her arms. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, "We don't have to give names, do we?"
"No, not unless we really want to. That's the best part. Nobody will know who we are," Eulalie said with a smile.
No one would know they were allegedly cursed. They could be themselves fully. Eulalie and the rest of her sisters hummed with sheer excitement. It was so innocent. Eulalie took Pollyanna's hand to guide her inside the magnificent castle the Mumming was hosted in.
