Chasing Midnight - A Cinderella Retelling (Once Upon a Curse Book 3) Page 9

“It’s not…” I trail off with a wince as Ella shoots me a sharp look.

  “I look like a pumpkin.”

  Now that she said it, I can’t unsee it. “A very pretty pumpkin.”

  “Nymia,” Ella whines and drops her face into her palms. “What am I going to do? I want Prince Frederick to notice me, but not like this. I’ll be the laughingstock of the whole ball. I’ll— I’ll—”

  She cuts off with a sniffle as her entire body starts to tremble. Mother, help me, I think she’s crying.

  “Ella,” I try tentatively.

  The whimper shifts to a wail.

  “Ella.”

  Nothing. She doesn’t hear me. She’s in her own world. I put my hand on her shoulder, trying to grab her attention, but the second my fingers touch her skin, she turns around and flings herself into my arms. I stand there, stiff as an aging oak tree, as she throws her arms around my neck and bawls into my shoulder. Do I pat her on the back? Do I yank her off? I don’t know. So I stay as I am, frozen as she melts against me. If I thought the energetic Ella was difficult, the wallowing one is far, far worse.

  “You don’t have to go,” I suggest gently. It would make my life a whole lot easier if we skipped the night entirely. I could always come back to spy on the prince without this ninety-pound liability literally hanging around my neck.

  “Of course I have to go. He invited me.”

  I roll my eyes. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.”

  “About what?” Ella snaps her head back, despair tossed to the wayside to make room for her suspicion. I shrug out of her arms.

  “Do you think, maybe—and just listen,” I snap and hold my arms up as she narrows her eyes at me. “I’m just asking if it’s possible the humans felt your magic that night, and realized it was coming from the orphanage, but weren’t sure from who, so they invited everyone to the ball as a way to determine who has the magic?”

  “No.”

  I’ve never been shut down so fast. “No?”

  She crosses her arms and cocks her hip to the side, glaring at me. “Prince Frederick would never do that.”

  “Why not?” I snort. “He’s too pretty?”

  Ella sneers. “He’s not pretty. He’s handsome, and charming, and he cares about people. He’d never trick me like that.”

  Why do I feel as if I’ve heard these exact words before?

  Not from Ella, but from Aerewyn.

  “Of course he would!” I snap. But it’s not her I want to throttle—it’s my sister. My pent-up anger bubbles to the surface, leftover from the night so long ago when I woke alone on a bed of moss, after she promised me she wouldn’t leave. Except she did. She lied to me. She betrayed my trust. After everything we’d been through, she chose a human over me. I wasn’t enough, and in my shortcoming, the world was destroyed.

  “No he wouldn’t!”

  I blink, remembering where I am, who I’m with. Ella’s lower lip wobbles, but she stands her ground. It’s not worth the argument, so I change the subject, hoping this is another one of her moods that will shift like the wind. “Bring me a flower.”

  She shakes her head. “A flower?”

  “Do you want a new dress or not?”

  Ella’s entire face brightens at the possibilities in my tone, argument forgotten, and she runs from the room. She returns with—surprise, surprise—a pink rose.

  I pluck the petals from the stem and rest them in my palm, letting my magic simmer and spark in the spaces between them. One of the first lessons the priestesses taught us was crafting clothes. Elemental magic always came easily to me, and to all the other girls in training—it’s part of us. Blowing winds. Nurturing gardens. Calling on the heat of the Mother sun. It’s something all faeries can wield to a certain extent. But using the power in the ancient words is different—it’s a bending and twisting of the elements into something else entirely. Making faerie clothes lies somewhere in between the two—a skill we practiced at the beginning of our training to learn how to warp nature to our will.

  I blow the petals from my palm.

  As they sail across the room, I will them to grow. The fibers elongate and stretch to ten times their size, bringing out the full richness of the subtle gradations in their hues. One by one, I wrap them around Ella’s midsection, tight to her waist, making her shape appear womanly in a way I assume she’ll appreciate. As the petals dip below her hips, I urge them even longer so they drop all the way to the floor, covering her legs while giving her enough space to move. Ella spins while I work, eyes growing wider and wider each time she catches her reflection in the mirror. As soon as I attach the last petal, she stops.

  “Nymia.” Her voice holds just enough awe to make me smile. Funny how something so benign to one person could mean so much to another. “It’s beautiful. Everyone’s going to be so jealous!”

  “Well…” I shrug, not sure what to say. The sight of so much gratitude in her eyes makes me uneasy. “At least it’s not orange.”

  “Thank you,” Ella gushes and runs over. She grabs me by the arms and pulls me in for a hug as she bounces on her feet. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!”

  There’s a knock on the door.

  “Ella! Let us in!”

  “Why’d you lock us out?”

  “You’re not the only one who wants to put on makeup before we go!”

  With a gasp, she lets go of me and steps back.

  “Blimey! Out of time. But there’s one more thing…” Ella trails off and kneels, digging through the bag by her feet until she pulls a white slip of paper free. When she opens it, I realize it’s a map. “I printed this out for you at school. The ball is here, at Kensington Palace. Since it’s the anniversary of the earthquake, they’re hosting events all week. Last night’s state dinner was at Buckingham Palace, tonight’s ball is in the orangery at Kensington Palace, tomorrow is some government thing at Parliament—”

  “Ella, come on!” someone snaps again. “Open the door!”

  “Anyway,” Ella rushes on. “I thought you might want to come. I figured you could magic your way inside and find me. It’ll be brilliant! And then after, we can go straight to Omorose. I did a little research and there are two ships leaving for the States tomorrow. There’s got to be space on one of them. I don’t need to come back to this place ever again.”

  “Ella!”

  “I’m coming!” she snaps over her shoulder, then turns back to me and rolls her eyes. “They’re so impatient.” I refrain from explaining to her that if she were the one on the other side of the door, she would’ve broken it down by now. “Anyway, see you there.”

  I curl into the farthest corner of Ella’s bed, pressing up against the wall, and call the shadows around me. I’m not hiding in the closet again. I refuse. Ella tosses the offending cloud of orange over top of me, just in case, then opens the door. Even without magic, I think I’d be completely hidden beneath the suffocating folds.

  “What took you so long?”

  “Where’d you find that dress?”

  “Here are your shoes. They handed them out after you ran upstairs. Everyone’s wearing the same, plain nude heels, because Headmistress Hinkley didn’t want any more fights to break out.”

  “The old cow.”

  They all giggle.

  I listen idly to their gossiping, noting how much more animated Ella sounds with these girls than the two girls from the day before. She’s unafraid and daring. She jokes and teases. I want to warn her one last time that this isn’t a game. That the prince is dangerous. That I am too. That she shouldn’t be so trusting. But I can’t. All I can do is wait until their voices disappear, then wait some more, until the world is draped in silence and the view through the gauzy fabric grows dark.

  When nighttime falls, I crawl out of hiding and leave the room the same way I came in—through the window. Using the wind to ease my fall, I drop silently to the stones below. The street is empty, but I still keep the cloaking spell wrapped tightly around me. In this ci
ty, I never know who’s watching.

  It takes me about forty minutes to walk the route Ella outlined on the map, but most of the path crosses through a large park, so I don’t mind. By the time I reach Kensington Palace, the party is in full swing. Music rattles the air. The leaves arching overhead seem to shake with the vibrations. Voices force the peaceful silence away. I keep a large distance from the crowd and stick close to the hedges, using the noise as my guide. Most of the humans are entering through a massive iron gate, but I slip around back to the gardens, careful to keep out of sight of the humans carrying guns.

  The orangery is difficult to miss. Lights spill through massive glass windows, casting a golden glow over the patio and the manicured lawn beyond. Within a secured perimeter, a handful of guests stroll hand in hand beneath the stars. Inside, people dance and eat and laugh. From this distance, I don’t see Ella or the prince, which means I need to get closer.

  As I pass by a bed of flowers, I grab a stalk of delphinium buds, then hide in the shadow of a hedge to weave the indigo petals into a dress that will blend with the night. I twist a spider’s web into a sheer lace to cover my arms, neck, and hands. Before I left the orphanage, I reapplied a layer of Omorose’s makeup, but the extra coverage will help to keep as much of my glittering golden skin hidden as possible.

  Taking a deep breath, I step free of the shadows and into the glow of the lights, testing my disguise. No one shouts an alarm. The guards don’t seem to notice I’ve appeared out of nowhere. To them I’m a woman in a dress. I blend. Still, I’m alert as I cross the lawn and slowly walk up the patio steps, closer to the windows. I look inside but don’t see Ella. Exposed as I am, it’ll be suspicious for me to stare for too long. So I walk down the length of the building and around the side. Once out of sight, I hide in a pool of shadow between the windows and cast my spell again, molding to the night.

  Leaning against the bricks, I study the faces inside. I recognize the girls from the night before. They’re huddled together in a corner, whispering something as they stare at the dance floor beyond. I follow the line of their sight to see the prince laughing with a young girl as he circles her around the room. His face is the image of relaxed ease. There’s no magic in his skin, but still, there’s something about his eyes that seem to twinkle. It must be a reflection of the chandeliers—nothing more. He leans his head back, laughing with his entire body, then bows as the music dies away. I don’t see Ella, but I assume she’s somewhere inside, eagerly awaiting her turn in his arms. Another girl beats her to the punch.

  I watch him spin her around the room, feeling silly.

  I overestimated him and overreacted about his invention. If he could sense magic, if any of the humans could, I never would’ve made it this far. If this ball was an elaborate trap to catch someone with magic, surely they would’ve sensed my entrance. The afternoon on the street must’ve been a fluke. My senses were off, surrounded by the din of so many people. I was worried over nothing—and it wouldn’t be the first time. Aerewyn used to tease me mercilessly for my caution. I never thought of it as being afraid, just as good sense. If she’d been a little more like me, she never would’ve snuck off with a human prince in the middle of the night.

  The sight of Ella pulls me from my memories.

  I see her through a brief part in the crowd, dancing with two of her roommates, but I don’t miss the longing gaze she tosses over her shoulder in what I assume must be Prince Frederick’s direction. He’s lost in the crowd now, and good riddance. When she smiles again, I turn away, unable to stand how the sight twists my insides into knots.

  I freeze when I spot the man standing behind me.

  Those blue eyes pierce the shadows, focusing on my form as though he can see past the cloaking spell wrapped tight to my body. The left edge of his lip quirks into a grin.

  “I know you’re there,” Prince Frederick murmurs. The sound of his voice sends a sudden chill down my spine. “So you might as well come out and say hello.”

  I don’t move. As long as I remain still, no one on this earth should be able to spot me, including this prince. He glances down at his hands, fingers clutching a small device, then back up in my general direction.

  “I don’t want to hurt you,” he continues, taking a small step closer. I hold my breath so my chest is still. “I just want to ask you a few questions.”

  Yeah, I’ll believe that—never.

  While his eyes are focused on what should appear to be empty space, I gently call my magic, curling my fingers ever so slightly. With so much nature around me, it’s easy to grow a few vines. They creep over the stones behind his legs, gradually inching closer, until I’ve wrapped two loops around the bottoms of his shoes.

  Then I run.

  Prince Frederick must see the ripple in the shadows, because he reaches out as I pass by and manages to grab hold of my arm. With his feet caught in my vines, he’s thrown off balance. I try to yank myself free, but he clamps down, refusing to let go. As he kicks out of his shoes, I trip and we both go down, landing in a heap against the stones. The prince gains the upper hand and uses his weight to hold me down, then presses his forearms against the ground on either side of my head so I can’t escape.

  “Are you going to show me who you are now?” he asks, darting his gaze in hapless lines, as though trying to spot the phantom he can feel lying beneath him.

  There’s no use feigning ignorance any longer—maybe we can both get something out of the deal. “Only if you’ll tell me how you found me.”

  His eyes widen at the feminine sound of my voice. He rolls to the side a little, not enough for me to escape, but enough that I can breathe. For some reason, I can’t help but notice the way his golden hair shimmers in the light spilling through the windows, forming a halo around his face. “I will. I promise.”

  Human promises mean little to me.

  Still, I let my cloaking spell fade.

  The prince gasps. “It’s you.”

  I frown. “So it is.”

  “You were at the speech the other day.”

  “I was.”

  “I saw you in the crowd.”

  “You did.”

  He shakes his head as though trying to clear some sort of confusion. I’m not sure why when all we’ve been doing is stating the obvious.

  “Can you get off me now?”

  “Oh, bollocks,” the prince mutters and rolls to his feet before offering me his hand.

  I take it and let him pull me to standing before shaking my fingers free. His touch leaves a heat that lingers on my skin. I rub my palms over the sides of my dress, flattening the material as I try to wipe the tingling simmer away.

  “You’re—” He cuts himself off and blinks rapidly a few times as his brows pull together.

  “What?” I ask. He seems to be having trouble forming sentences. If this prince is the greatest threat standing in my way, I don’t know why I felt so nervous. “Has the sight of my beauty stolen your tongue?”

  “What? No.” He shakes his head. “I mean, yes, you’re beautiful, but no, it’s not that. It’s— Well, you’re glowing.”

  He lifts his fingers as though to brush my cheek. I swat his hand away. The stupid makeup must have rubbed off when we fell.

  “And?”

  The corner of his lip lifts into a lopsided grin once more as humor floods his gaze. “And I guess I’m not used to meeting people who glow.”

  Why are humans so annoyingly fixated on my skin? I shrug and cross my arms, glancing through the window and into the party, away from him. For some reason, his attention makes my skin crawl. “Maybe you should get out more.”

  “Maybe I should,” he agrees.

  A second later, I feel a little tug on a lock of my hair. I glance back at the prince to see he's curled a golden ringlet around his finger. “Would you stop touching me, please?”

  “Sorry.” He drops his hand immediately, biting the edge of his bottom lip to keep his smile from widening. “It’s just—what are y
ou?”

  “None of your business,” I answer and step back. He lifts his hands in the air, palms out, as though to say he comes in peace. Doubtful. “That wasn’t part of the deal. You asked me to show you who I am, not what I am. This is who I am. Now, how did you find me?”

  He wrinkles his nose.

  I can’t stop the haughty smile that comes to my lips.

  Gotcha.

  The second he sees it, he narrows his eyes and a flame flares deep in his blue irises, the silent promise of a welcome challenge. He arches a brow and extends his hand, offering me the strange device he’s holding. “This is how I found you.”

  I take it.

  The outside is black, made of a material I can’t place, but it doesn’t feel natural in my palm. A screen blinks with flashing lights, numbers I don’t understand, a ring of circles growing smaller and smaller, until in the center a bright spot glows. I turn the device over a few times, trying to make sense of it.

  “What is it? How does it work?” I ask, glancing back up at the prince.

  He crosses his arms and shrugs as a smug grin pulls at his cheeks. “That wasn’t part of the deal. You asked how I found you. That’s how I found you. Of course, if you’d like to know more, I’d be happy to renegotiate the terms of our agreement.”

  My nostrils flare.

  I need to know how this human invention works and what it means for all the magical creatures hiding all over the world. I need to know so I can stop it.

  “A question for a question?” I offer.

  “Deal.” He inclines his head. “Ladies first.”

  I scoff and roll my eyes. I’m no lady. “How did you use this to find me?”

  “It’s simple really,” he answers in a goading tone that makes my upper lip curl as he snatches the device back, then turns it around to face me. “It’s a radar system, but instead of detecting radio waves, it detects magic. As soon as the worlds merged, scientists all over the globe started researching why the use of magic would interfere with the use of electricity, and the only thing they could conclude was that the magic emitted an electromagnetic pulse that interfered with our electric grid, causing the widespread blackouts. So, running on that theory, they designed radar equipment to detect the wavelengths of magic, and voila.” He shakes the little device. “It’s a bit fickle with your magic, though. I had to get quite close before it picked up on the signal, and even then, it was weak.”