“They’re not leaving because of you,” Evangeline assured her.
Marisol frowned, unconvinced. “I won’t stay long. I only came in to give you this.” She held out an elaborate piece of expensive red paper accented with whirls of gold leaf and sealed with a red wax symbol.
“When I saw it delivered, I thought it looked important, and I wanted to make sure Mother didn’t hide it from you.” Marisol finally managed a smile, one that looked a little sly around the corners. “I know I’ll never make up for the weeks that you were stone, but it’s something.”
“I’ve already told you, you don’t owe me anything.” Evangeline felt a familiar stab of guilt. Every day, she was tempted to tell Marisol the truth, but every day, she wasn’t quite brave enough. Between Evangeline working at the shop and Marisol hiding in her room, the girls hadn’t grown much closer. But Marisol was still the nearest thing Evangeline had to family.
Someday, Evangeline would tell her stepsister the truth, but she still couldn’t do it yet.
And Marisol didn’t even give her the chance. As soon as she handed Evangeline the red page, Marisol disappeared the way she came, leaving Evangeline to open the mysterious note alone.
Dear Miss Fox,
My sister and I would love to have the pleasure of your company tomorrow for afternoon tea in the Royal Hummingbird Court at two o’clock. We’ve admired you from afar, and we have an exciting opportunity we’d like to discuss.
Warmest regards,
Scarlett Marie Dragna
Empress of the Meridian Empire
9
Evangeline read the empress’s invitation one more time as her sky carriage landed on the pristine palace grounds. She had spent the last day trying to imagine what sort of opportunity the empress might want to discuss, but she still had no idea what it was. Marisol had no clue either. When Evangeline had returned to the house and told Marisol what the red note contained, her stepsister had repeatedly said she was happy for Evangeline, but she’d also looked nervous.
If Evangeline’s invitation was mysterious, the new empress was even more so.
Before Evangeline had been turned to stone, there had been a different heir to the throne: a young man nicknamed His Handsomeness. Unfortunately, she’d learned that during the Week of Terror, the Fates had made their reappearance known to the public by murdering this unlucky royal. The new empress, and her younger sister—whom people called the Fate Slayer—had battled the Fates to get the empire back, killing one, and proving that Evangeline’s theory had been correct—the Fates weren’t true immortals. They didn’t age, but they could die.
Most of the city adored the sisters for their victory over the Fates, but some believed the new empress was actually a Fate. The scandal sheets claimed that she could read minds and her fiancé was a pirate covered in a web of scars.
Evangeline knew better than to believe all the rumors. Yet she was still anxious about the mind reading. She didn’t want the empress seeing her thoughts and learning that Evangeline was not the savior everyone believed.
Evangeline toyed with the buttons of her cream capelet, suddenly hot as she left her carriage and followed a palace servant down a flower-covered path to a door with a golden handle shaped like a hummingbird.
After opening the door, the servant bowed. “Your Majesty, Miss Evangeline Fox has arrived.” He stepped aside, welcoming her into a garden full of fairy-green trees dripping coral, pink, and peach-colored flowers that made Evangeline think of soft kisses on cheeks.
“Welcome!”
“It’s so lovely to finally meet you, Evangeline!”
“Your hair really is divine!”
The empress and her sister, Princess Donatella, spoke at once as hummingbirds zipped above their heads.
“We weren’t sure what you liked, so we ordered a bit of everything,” announced the princess. With cloudburst-blue ribbons in her blond curls and a playful expression on her pretty face, she was not at all how Evangeline had imagined the brazen, Fate-slaying hellion from the scandal sheets.
“We have blackberry creams, harvest terrines, pumpkin pudding, walnut tarts, and every type of tea.” The princess waved a hand toward a tiered tower of colorful teapots piping pretty pink steam. If the royal sisters were trying to dazzle her, they were doing an excellent job.
Evangeline felt like a princess herself as she finally removed her capelet and took a seat at the generous table. “This is wonderful. Thank you for inviting me.”
“We’re so pleased you could join us,” said the empress. She was young—probably around Evangeline’s age—although it was difficult to be sure, as she had a thick gray streak cutting through her dark hair. She wore an off-the-shoulder ruby gown, pretty lace gloves, and a smile so sweet Evangeline found it hard to believe she’d been anxious about meeting her. “We’ve wished to meet you ever since hearing about your heroism during the Week of Terror.”