“Of course I am. That is-”
“It didn’t go well for you last time.”
I glared at him, not happy to be reminded of the corset disaster.
“Our invitation assured us that precautions have been taken. I plan to attend.”
“I wish you wouldn’t. Things are tense at the palace right now. Hosting the Salarians has everyone on edge.”
He leaned a little closer.
“Anything could happen.”
“The Salarians are staying at my house. They could hurt me there if they wanted to, and I doubt things could be worse than the last ball.”
I turned away from Carlo and ran back to my estate. His warning that I shouldn’t attend made me eager to face that ballroom again. To prove that I wasn’t afraid.
Donna Senona met me at the door.
“I’m going to the castle early,” she said. “Rosa and Ethan aren’t feeling well, so you’ll all spend a quiet evening here.”
“I’m going to the ball. Father would want me to attend. I’ll send him a message if I have to.”
Donna Senona’s eyes narrowed.
“You’ll do no such thing. Your father is too busy helping with negotiations to be bothered with such trivial matters.”
She swept out of the house. I ran to the window and watched her leave.
She rode on horseback.
And she had the nerve to lecture me about being improper? A donna riding to the castle in a ball gown? Ridiculous. Even if Father had taken the carriage, it was simple enough to hire another.
Everyone telling me I shouldn’t go to the ball had steeled my resolve to attend. I would show Donna Senona that she couldn’t control me and tell Father what a monster she really was.
Not to mention I wanted to see Lorenzo.
But I couldn’t get ready without help. I sprinted to the laundry building, and Beatrice glared at me as I entered.
“For the last time, I don’t have the Salarian’s cloak! He never sent it to us.”
“I need to speak to Renata.”
Beatrice narrowed her eyes and called for Renata. The apprentice hurried over.
“Alma, is everything alright?”
“Yes, but I need your assistance for a moment.”
“Renata has work to do,” Beatrice said. “And then she must go to the market to fetch the soap she failed to buy yesterday.”
“That wasn’t her fault. The cart exploded.”
“There are other soap vendors.”
“She’s coming with me. Send someone else for the soap.”
I grabbed Renata’s arm and pulled her out of the building.
“Alma, what on earth is wrong?”
“I need your help.”
“I should to get back to work. Beatrice has been on edge all week, and I can’t afford to annoy her. Being accused of losing the Salarian’s cloak hasn’t improved her mood.”
“It won’t take long. Please, Renata.”
She sighed.
“Fine. What do you need?”
I led her to my room and opened my wardrobe. My quince gown glittered in the sunlight.
“Beautiful,” Renata said.
“I need you to dress me so I can go to the ball.”
She ran her hands over the fabric.
“This is more complex than a uniform, Alma. Are you sure you want me to do it? A seamstress would be better.”
“The seamstress works for Donna Senona. I can help. Use my soul loop to power the charm.”
Renata sighed and offered her hand. I took it, and the room faded away.
I saw a younger Renata and a young man standing over an apprentice dress. When I looked closer, I recognized him as Tullio. He looked different with hair.
“The motion goes like this,” he said, demonstrating with a wave of his hand. “You act like you’re pulling dirt from the fabric, but you pull the fabric itself instead. It stretches the fiber without damaging it.”
The dress grew a little bigger as he waved his hands. Renata grinned and copied his motion. The fabric stretched until it was twice the size it had been.
“What is the meaning of this? Why are you ruining guild property?”
Laundry Mistress Beatrice picked up the uniform and scowled at it. Renata shrank back, but Tullio met Beatrice’s gaze.
“We’re improving it so it will fit Renata.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to improve Renata instead? If she had any restraint at the dinner table, she wouldn’t need to stretch gowns to fit her figure.”
“There’s nothing wrong with her figure!”
Renata put a hand on Tullio’s arm, but he didn’t take the hint. Beatrice smiled, looking far from friendly.
“I have no use for apprentices who waste their time creating useless charms. I think it would be best if you transfered to a new master, Tullio.”
“Fine. Let’s go, Renata.”
Beatrice’s smile widened.
“Oh no, Renata is staying right where she is.”
Tullio protested, but Renata shook her head.
“It will be alright, Tullio,” she said. “Besides, you had another offer of apprenticeship. I didn’t.”
Tullio swallowed, looking trapped.
The scene faded to black. I stood back in my room wearing my quince gown. The ordinary corset was far less comfortable than the fairy one, but it felt safer somehow. I breathed as deeply as I could and studied my reflection.
“You look beautiful!” Renata said. “You’ll dazzle the prince for sure.”
I didn’t tell her what I had seen when our souls linked. She didn’t ask.
“I need to get back now,” she said. “I can’t afford to have Beatrice angry at me when I’m so close to passing my apprenticeship.”
I swallowed.
“Renata, I didn’t mean to get you in trouble. I thought-”
I couldn’t finish the sentence. I hadn’t thought of anything but my own problems. It hadn’t occurred to me that Renata also had difficulties.
“It’s alright, Alma. I’m used to it.”
“Is Beatrice really that upset about losing a cloak?”
“I think there’s something else, but I don’t know what it is.”
I studied her for a moment, thinking.
“Renata, could you watch for the cloak and see if it turns up? Could you bring it to me if it does?”
“Is it really that important?”
“I want to look at it and see for myself. I’ll return it to Ethan when I’m done.”
“I suppose I could do that.”
“Thank you, Renata. You’ve helped me so much. Is there anything I can do for you?”
She grinned.
“Go dance with the prince, Alma. And maybe you could recommend me for a post at the royal laundry if things go well? I have a few friends who work there.”
“Tullio?”
She blushed and hurried away.
I stared at myself in the mirror. The dress was beautiful, but my hair was a mess. I brushed it until I got the worst of the tangles out.
Donna Senona had ridden on horseback, which meant Father must have taken the carriage this morning. We had another horse, but there was no way I could ride in this gown.
I would have to walk. If I left now, I could make it to the castle in time.
I wandered through the garden, grateful that the green dress would help me blend in. I didn’t know if Donna Senona had given the servants instructions about me, but I wasn’t willing to take the risk.
I squeezed through a hole in the hedge to avoid the guards at the main gate. The curled ribbons caught on the bushes, and I stooped to untangle them.
I would never make it through the forest with all these ribbons on my skirt. As soon as I was out of sight of the house, I walked on the road.
People stared as they drove past in their carriages, but no one said anything. Not to me, anyway. I nodded politely to them and kept walking as if my behavior were perfectly normal. If I kept up this
pace, I would make it in time for the first dance.
I would be a little sweaty, but I would make it in time.
I heard a horse coming, looked up to greet the rider, and froze mid-step.
Donna Senona rode around the corner.
Chapter 19
Donna Senona stopped her horse.
“Alma?”
“Donna?”
She pushed towards me. I ran off the road and into the forest. The branches were too thick for her to follow on horseback.
But they were also too thick to run through. My skirt caught on a bush, and I tumbled forward. I braced for the fall, but I never hit the ground. Something grabbed my dress and held me above the grass. I hovered in the air, staring at the rocks and thorns where I should have landed.
What was happening?
I tried to turn my head and see what held me prisoner, but it did no good. I floated back to the road no matter how hard I struggled. Once I was out of the forest, the fabric on my dress tugged me upright and set me on the road. I tried to run as soon as my feet touched the ground.
Donna Senona snapped her fingers. My skirt wrapped around my ankles and stiffened to hold me in place. I stared at her in disbelief.
“You know magic?”
“What are you doing here, Alma?”
“Let me go!”
I kicked against my skirt and toppled over. She held me upright with a wave of her hand.
Not only did she know magic, she knew it well.
Donna Senona snapped her fingers and lifted me into the air. Rather, she lifted my dress, and I came with it. She was working fabric magic, and my quince gown gave her a lot of fabric to work. She set me on her horse and galloped back to the house.
“I know Tía Teresa was here this afternoon, Alma. I overheard the gossip at the castle. I know she made that dress.”
“She made it so I could go to the ball!”
I tried to break free, but my gown made an effective prison. I called for help, but the road was empty.
“Her corset almost killed you! Who knows what a whole dress might do, Hija?”
“I’m not your daughter!”
She got tired of my screaming and gagged me with a piece of her cloak. If the guards noticed my struggle when we reached the estate, they said nothing. Donna Senona had established herself as mistress, and they wouldn’t question her.
Traitors.
When we reached the house, she pulled me off the horse and up to my room. The few servants we met looked the other way. I tried to fight her, but the fabric was too tight. She set me on my bed and locked the door.
“Tía Teresa wouldn’t harm me!” I said when she finally ungagged me. “Someone at the ball pulled the corset tight. It was probably you since you know fabric magic. You’re a donna, and you know magic. That’s illegal!”
“You think I tried to choke you? You honestly think I would harm you?”
She stood perfectly still, watching me. I glared at her from my place on the bed.
“Why not? You sent me to the laundry to get rid of me. Soul magic can kill you!”
“Which is why you need to learn it. You’re not going anywhere tonight, Alma. Someone is targeting you, and you can’t defend yourself.”
“Try to stop me.”
“I’m trying to protect you.”
Her eyes narrowed and her soul loop surged. She waved her hands in slow, wide circles. My quince gown shuddered.
“Stop! What are you doing?”
The bottom of my skirt unraveled into piles of thread. I tried to form my soul loop. Tried to stop her.
But I wasn’t strong enough.
The enchantment spread to the curled ribbons on the skirt. They crumbled into piles of wavy string. Bit by bit, she reduced my gown to green silk strands and glittering gems. I regained movement as the dress collapsed. When she finished, I sat in my chemise and corset, tears streaming down my face.
“That gown took months to make! How could you?”
Donna Senona snapped her fingers and removed my corset. I took deep, shuddering breaths, and her face softened. She put a hand on my shoulder.
“I just want you to be safe. Arturo is trusting me to protect you while he helps the prince.”
I shoved her hand away.
“I should report you for working magic.”
“Alma, don’t say things like that.”
“You know it’s illegal for nobles to work magic. You know the punishments.”
“And you know those punishments would affect your father now that we’re married.”
“Don’t you dare drag Papa into this.”
“I won’t have to if you don’t report me. We’re family now, Alma. I’m trying to protect you. I suggest you extend the same courtesy to me.”
My heart raced, but there was nothing left to say. I couldn’t risk incriminating Father, and she knew it. I ran my fingers through the bits of thread on the floor. Donna Senona flicked her wrist and rolled the remains of my gown into a pile.
“Goodnight, Alma.”
She carried the pile of thread out of the room. Her voice echoed through the hallway as she spoke to the servants.
“Alma is not to leave the house tonight. She isn’t well.”
A few minutes later, she was on her horse riding back to the castle. My hands clenched into fists until my fingernails dug into my palms. I was too angry to cry anymore. I pulled the Rosas Rojas from under my pillow and clutched it with shaking hands.
It would be easy to tell Lorenzo about her. All I needed to do was fall asleep. Maybe he wouldn’t punish Father if I explained the situation.
But he was acting king now, and that meant upholding the law. I couldn’t risk it. Donna Senona’s crimes would have to remain a secret for now.
I ate supper by myself, and I didn’t eat much. Rosa and Ethan were both too ill to leave their rooms.
I wandered the hallways staring at paintings and columns and sculptures. Father’s servants watched me with pity in their eyes. Donna Senona’s glared. I got tired of both and went back to my room.
How had Donna Senona learned magic? No guild member would teach a donna, and she had been born with the title. How had she become so skilled?
More important, had she been the one to tighten my corset? She was competent with fabric magic, and she had been at the ball. Had she been jealous of my success? Eager to get me out of the way so Rosa could shine?
That made as much sense as the Salarians sabotaging a treaty they had initiated. As much as I disliked them, I couldn’t convince myself that Donna Senona and Rosa had any social aspirations. The more I thought about it, the less likely it seemed that anyone would gain anything from my death.
Donna Senona was despicable, but was she capable of murder?
I formed a soul loop and practiced fabric magic by flicking the corner of a curtain. It moved almost every time, and the motion calmed my nerves. At least I had control over something.
But even though my magic was improving, I was nowhere near strong enough to fight Donna Senona.
Did Father know about her magic? Surely he wouldn’t have married her if he’d known the truth.
I needed to speak to him. The ball would be the easiest place to reach him since he was in council meetings all day.
My palms sweat as I thought about walking into the ballroom. Everyone staring up at me, remembering the corset exploding. Me standing in the ballroom in just my chemise.
A single strand of green silk lay on the floor. The last fragment of my quince gown. I picked it up with my soul loop and floated it around the room. Sweat beaded on my forehead, but I kept it from hitting the ground. Magic churned through my body in a cheerful rush, making me feel calmer and clearing my head.
The sun set, and the first stars of the evening twinkled in the sky. Shimmering ribbons of light danced around the castle towers. Decorations for the ball. I pressed my forehead to the glass and watched.
What if I went in my nightgown? I could wear a
cloak over it, and no one would know I wasn’t dressed. Could I make it into the castle garden undetected? Could I get Father’s attention and talk to him on a balcony?
I turned my attention to our estate and studied the paths. If the kitchen was empty, it would be easy enough to sneak out and walk through the rose garden. I turned from the castle to our estate, planning my imaginary escape route.
A shadow darted across the lawn. Two shadows. I stared as two people in black cloaks crept through the rose garden and disappeared into the woods.
Apparently I wasn’t the only one with plans to sneak away tonight.
I darted into the hallway and ran into Rodrigo.
“Miss Alma, are you well?”
“Yes. I just-”
I paused to think. If any of the servants wanted to leave for the evening, they wouldn’t need to sneak away. They could pretend to have an errand and go through the gate. That meant the hooded figures must be-
I smiled at Rodrigo.
“I’m perfectly well now. I just need to check on Rosa.”
Chapter 20
I ran to Rosa’s room and stood outside the door while a maid walked past. As soon as she was out of sight, I knocked.
No one answered. My pulse quickened, but I tried to stay calm. Maybe she really was ill. Maybe she was asleep.
I knocked once more, then turned the knob.
The door swung open. I peeked inside, but it was too dark to see anything. I took a deep breath, stepped in, and closed the door behind me.
If Rosa was there, she was a quiet sleeper. I found my way to a window and opened the curtain. Moonlight streamed into the room, revealing an empty bed.
It was neatly made, but there were breadcrumbs on the blanket. I rolled them between my fingers, crushing them to dust.
I left Rosa’s room with my heart pounding. Two cloaked figures had run across our lawn, and I had a good idea who was wearing the second cloak.
It wasn’t proper for me to knock on a gentleman’s door at night. Especially not an ambassador. Definitely not proper.
I kept telling myself that as I made my way to the Salarians’ rooms, but somehow it only strengthened my resolve.
I knocked softly on Ethan’s door, then louder when no one answered.
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