My lashes grew wet as tears welled in my eyes. My vision blurred, warning me they were about to fall. I turned from the dance floor, searching for the closest exit, the fastest way to flee. I would not give King Marnaigne the satisfaction of seeing me cry.
Before I could make my escape, I felt a small hand close over mine.
The first dance had already come to an end, and Euphemia had found me, ready for ours.
“Where are you going, Hazel?” she asked, her blue eyes filled with concern. “Don’t you want to dance?”
I blinked hard, hoping my mask would catch any falling tears. My smile felt shaky, and I was certain she’d see through its false brightness. “Of course I do! I was just on my way to find you!”
“I was out there!” she laughed, pointing. “With Papa. Come.”
I tried to keep an eye out for the king as she pulled me to the center of the dance floor, stopping beneath one of the chandeliers, but he’d been swallowed by a crowd hungry to hear his take on Baudouin’s final moments.
“Are you feeling all right, Euphemia?” I asked as she positioned herself in front of me. Even through her lace covering, I could see that her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes seemed glassy.
“You were right!” she exclaimed, fanning her hands at her face. “It’s too warm in here!”
“I told you!” I tried to laugh.
My heart panged as I watched her skip around me. I knew with utter clarity that this was the last time I would see Euphemia. Once our dance was over, I was going to escape to my rooms, pack a bag, and slip into the night. I didn’t know where I was going, but it didn’t matter. Any place was better than here, with a king’s temper swayingfrom exuberant highs to dangerous lows, close to a boy I’d come to care for but could never be with.
I wasn’t concerned with the details of my flight. I had money, more than enough to get me out of Martissienes. It didn’t matter after that. Healers were needed the whole world over. No matter where I went, I would be able to work, even without the added assurance of my gift. I could make a life for myself.
I distantly wondered when Merrick would find out, when he’d find me, and where I’d be when he did. I knew other countries had other gods, revering them for other reasons, but I’d always supposed they were just different iterations of the ones I already knew. Death was death, regardless of how one characterized him.
“Areyouall right?” Euphemia asked, breaking into my dark thoughts. “Your eyes are all watery, Hazel.”
I shoved away my plans and vowed to be present in the here and now, grounding myself in this dance, in these last moments with this little girl I’d come to think of as a sister.
The best sister I’d ever had.
“I’m fine,” I promised, and impetuously picked her up, twirling her around and around in a close embrace. My exuberant gesture knocked both our masks off but allowed me to press a quick kiss to her temple. “I was just thinking how much I shall miss you once you’ve gone to bed.”
She laughed, delighted, and threw her arms around my neck, prolonging our hug. I held her close as long as my arms could stand it, performing all the frenzied footwork of the dance while keeping her aloft. I could feel her chin resting on my collarbone as she watched the other dancers over my shoulder.
Eventually, her little body grew too hot and heavy. As the finalnotes of the song blessedly faded, I set her back on the floor, my spine aching.
“Thank you for such a marvelous dance,” I said, wanting to give her a proper farewell without showing my intentions. “I will remember it always.”
Euphemia had stooped to search the ground for our missing masks. Finding hers first, she pinned it back in place. “I don’t see yours!” she worried. Glancing up, she brightened. “But, Hazel! You look so lovely tonight! You shouldn’t hide under a mask anyway!”
I wiped my brow and cheeks, feeling the sheen of sweat from carrying her about the dance floor for so long. Beautiful was the last thing I felt in this moment.
“Oh, you mussed it,” she fretted, grabbing my hand to show mea smear of gold powder across my palm.
“I’ll go freshen up,” I promised, glad to have an excuse to leave the ballroom. “And you need to go find Leopold before…” The shimmer of paint sparkled strangely in the light of the chandelier, and I frowned. “Before…”
Something twinged inside me, screaming to be noticed, and my words trailed off as I started to piece it together.
Gold.
There was gold on my hands. A burnished gold, fine and slippery.
But I hadn’t been wearing gold.
Cherise had doused me in a pearlescent powder, gleaming like an opal. Bellatrice had said it clashed with my gown, but I’d thought it beautiful.
So where had the gold come from?
