The Black Key (14 page)

Everyone nods in unison.

“You.” The Duchess points a finger directly at me. “Come with me. The rest of you are dismissed.”

I'
M SURPRISINGLY CALM AS
I
FOLLOW THE
D
UCHESS OUT
of the ballroom.

Maybe there's simply nothing left in me to feel. After the day's events, I wonder if I'll ever be able to muster up any strong emotion again. I should be terrified right now. I should be worried the Duchess could discover me, could recognize my voice. Could kill me.

But as she opens the door to a small study, a grim determination sets in. Hazel is still in danger. So are Ash and Ochre. Raven, Sil, Sienna, Indi, Olive, all the girls in the holding facilities are counting on me, on this plan, on the fact that this year, at this Auction, they will not be sold as slaves. They will declare themselves free citizens of the Lone City. I
hate that Coral died but she is not the first person who's died because of this cause. And she certainly won't be the last.

The Duchess sits in a leather armchair and studies me over steepled fingers. “You have done an adequate job as Coral's lady-in-waiting,” she says.

I curtsy.

“And I like that you don't prattle on like so many other maids in this house. You will stay here, as Carnelian's lady-in-waiting. She should like that, she's been asking for one for long enough.” She smirks. “And that way you can't run off and sell your story to the papers or another House. I'll have your tongue ripped out if you try.”

I hadn't considered that I'd be dismissed from service. Coral hasn't even been dead two hours.

“Yes, my lady,” I say huskily. “Thank you, my lady.”

The Duchess sighs and rubs her temple. She glances at the clock on the mantel and I realize I've been in this room before. The first time I ever wandered around the palace alone. The day I met Ash. There was a picture of the Duchess on a rolltop desk, a small, lifelike painting. In a moment of rebellion, I used the first Augury, Color, to change her skin from smooth caramel to garish green.

She nearly broke my hand because of that.

“You're dismissed,” the Duchess says sharply. I curtsy again and rush out the door, heading in the direction of the servants quarters.

Cora is waiting for me outside the dining room. The halls are empty.

“Did she make you Carnelian's lady-in-waiting?” she asks.

“Yes.”

“Good. She was going to dismiss you. I tried very hard to convince her otherwise. Without tipping my hand, of course.” Cora fingers the keys on her belt. “I hope you have a plan for Auction Day.” I don't miss the note of warning in her voice.

“I do,” I say. It's not entirely a lie.

“The doctor is still seeing to Carnelian at the moment. You will attend to her in her room this evening.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

She looks me up and down. “You could use a bath and a change of clothes.”

I look down at my ruined dress. “Yes.”

“You may use my private powder room if you wish. Oh and, Violet . . .” She leans in close to me so I can see the wrinkles around her eyes. “If you do not keep up your end of our agreement, then I promise you—your sister
will
be in very real danger. And not from the Electress.”

A chill runs down my spine.

She turns to leave and calls back over her shoulder. “The Exetor will be here tomorrow morning at eleven. Be ready and in the foyer at ten forty-five. Sharp.”

I
LOOK IN ON
G
ARNET THAT NIGHT AFTER
I
BATHE, BEFORE
attending to Carnelian.

I find him taking Coral's miniature tea sets out of their glass display case, wrapping them in brown paper, and putting them in a box.

“Hey,” I say. “Are you okay?”

He looks down at the saucer in his hand, a looping pattern of silver and gold etched around its edge. “I wasn't really sure what to do with all these. But she loved them so
much. I didn't want Mother to get her hands on them. She'd probably have a good old time smashing them against a wall or something.”

“That's really nice,” I say. “Coral would appreciate it, I'm sure.”

Garnet wraps the saucer up and places it in the box. “Are you all right? You weren't hurt, were you?”

“No,” I say, remembering the way my instincts took over, joining with Air to protect me from the worst of the debris. “I'm fine.”

“She didn't . . . I mean . . .” He clears his throat. “Did she suffer?”

“No,” I say quietly. “It was . . . instant.”

He nods.

“I'm so sorry, Garnet,” I say. “First your father, and now . . .”

“It's . . . I'll be all right.” He sounds dazed. “Everything is getting real, isn't it? It's not just a vague plan back at the White Rose anymore.”

“It isn't,” I agree.

“Ash must be losing his mind.”

I frown. “Why do you say that?”

Garnet's eyebrows shoot up. “Violet, he knows you are—sorry, you were . . . Coral's lady-in-waiting. You can bet the entire Bank knows about the bombing and her death. He understands how the Jewel works—he'd know you'd have been with her at that fitting.”

“Oh no,” I gasp, my hand flying to my mouth.

“Lucien will find a way to tell him,” Garnet says.

“Or Rye,” I add.

“Rye?”

“He knows.” I fill Garnet in on what happened earlier.

“That's really great,” he says. “He could be helpful at the Auction House.”

I know he means it but the sentiment comes out halfhearted. I understand the feeling. I'm so exhausted, all I want to do is curl up under the covers of my bed and not come out for a day.

But I have to face Carnelian and then meet Rye tonight in Ash's old chambers. I give Garnet's arm a squeeze and he smiles wanly. I leave him with the tea sets and head to Carnelian's room.

I've never been inside it before. Maude only showed it to me in passing on my first day as a lady-in-waiting.

I knock. “Come in,” Carnelian says from within.

Carnelian does not have chambers like I did when I was a surrogate. Her one room is large and airy, with a view of the garden. It contains a four-poster bed, a round mahogany table with two chairs, a vanity, and a chaise lounge by the window. One wall is lined with bookshelves. Another has a pretty painting of a farmhouse that reminds me of the White Rose.

She lies in bed, the bandage on her shoulder poking out from beneath her nightdress. Her arms rest at her sides, but her face is alert. From the way she's looking at me, it's clear she hasn't forgotten the moment she recognized me earlier, before she slipped into unconsciousness.

“So,” she says as I close the door behind me. “You came back.”

I swallow. “I came back.”

My heart thumps in my chest. Now that I'm face-to-face with her, with the threat of dying removed, I don't know what she'll do. She could call for the Regimentals at any time.

“Why?” she demands. “Ash is safe.” Her eyes widen. “He
is
safe, isn't he? I read in the paper he was sighted in the Bank, but I didn't think it could be true.”

“He is safe,” I say. Then I add, “And it is true.”

“How could you let him do that?” Carnelian snaps. “He could get caught. She still wants to find him, to kill him!”

“I didn't have a choice,” I say. “He left without telling me.”

“Because he doesn't trust you?” she asks hopefully.

“Because I wasn't there,” I say. “Because . . . because I left him to come here.”

Carnelian chews on her lip. “Why? Is it revenge? Against the Duchess?”

My jaw clenches and she smiles smugly. “Good. I hope you get her before the Black Keys burn this city to the ground.” She cocks her head. “It's something more, though, isn't it? Not just revenge . . .” She pauses, studying me. Then she gasps. “Of course. The surrogate. Whoever the Duchess stole to replace you. You're here for her, aren't you? Is she a friend of yours?”

“Something like that,” I say. Then I blurt out the question that's burning in my throat. “If you knew the surrogate wasn't me, why didn't you tell anyone?”

“Oh, don't think I didn't try,” Carnelian says. “It was the perfect trump card to hold over her. But the Duchess plays dirty. She threatened to have me committed to an
asylum if I so much as breathed a word.” Her mouth sets in a hard line. “I hope that whatever you're planning, you make her suffer the way she deserves.”

“Aren't you frightened?” I say. “You were nearly killed today.”

Carnelian's laugh is hollow. “Even if I had died, no one would care. The Duchess would probably throw a parade.” She stares out the window. The sour mask she usually wears falls away, replaced with an expression of utter hopelessness. “It doesn't matter to anyone whether I live or die.”

I remember what Ash said to me, when we were waiting in the morgue for Lucien to come. He told me Carnelian was sad, and that that sadness had been twisted into bitterness and anger. All the time I lived here, I saw her only as a nuisance. I saw the sullenness and ignored the grief and pain beneath it.

Because she's right. No one in this palace would care if she had died today.

All the hatred and resentment I've held on to against Carnelian melts away. I see a girl who's been put down and mistreated for so long. I see the girl Ash saw, the one I ignored because I was busy being jealous and petty. A girl who misses her mother. A girl who wants to be loved.

I make the decision then, to be brave, where once I was timid. To be a different person, a better person.

I move toward her and sit on the bed. She rolls her eyes.

“What, are we going to be best friends now?”

“No,” I say. “But we
are
on the same side.”

“What side is that?”

“We both hate the royalty, right?”

She narrows her eyes at me and waits.

“And we both love the same boy,” I say. I hold out my hands, palms up, as a peace offering. “You want to turn me in, do it. Ring the bell, call the Regimentals. My life is in your hands. You can end it right now.”

Carnelian hesitates. I can see the desire to cry out, to have me handcuffed and executed for treason. I know the danger I've put myself in. But I look into her brown eyes and sense the war going on inside. Who does she hate more, me or the Duchess? The seconds stretch into minutes. I won't break the silence.

“Your name is Violet, right?” she says, finally.

“Yes.”

“Well. I guess I should thank you. For saving my life.”

“Ash never would have forgiven me if I didn't try.”

The yearning in Carnelian's face is a palpable thing. “Does he ever . . . talk about me?”

I take a breath and give her the honest answer. “Right before I left, he told me to be careful around you. That you are sharper than I gave you credit for.”

A tiny smile lights on her face. “He said that?”

I nod. She leans her head against the pillow and stares up at the ceiling.

“Can I get you anything?” I ask.

“No. I want to be alone.”

I stop at the door and turn. “He cares about you, you know. I hate it, but he does. He's been defending you ever since we escaped—since before then, really. I know it's not what you want, but . . .” I sigh. “He cares.”

Carnelian does not look at me. She very deliberately
closes her eyes. “Go away,” she whispers, and just as I close the door, I see a tear tumble down her cheek.

E
VERY BONE IN MY BODY ACHES.
M
Y EYELIDS ARE DRY
and my mind is numb. It has been a long day, but still, I have to see Rye.

I take a servant staircase down to the first floor and pause when I reach the hall where the library is. Joining with Air, I push it out from me in a gust, then pull it back.

I smell boot polish and hear the even steps of a Regimental. I slip back into the secret passage, behind a sliding panel of wall, and wait. The footsteps draw closer. Then they pass. I count to thirty, then sneak out into the hall and run as quickly and quietly as I can to the library.

As soon as I enter the tunnel, my arcana starts buzzing. I pull it out of my hair and talk as I walk.

“Are you all right?” Lucien is distraught. “Were you hurt in any way?”

“No,” I say dully. “Coral's dead.”

“I know. I'm so sorry you had to experience that.”

“Why?” The word comes out sharp and pointed. “This is what a revolution looks like, isn't it? It's about time I saw it, acknowledged it. You got me into this. Don't apologize now.”

I can feel it in the silence emanating from the tuning fork. I know I've hurt him. I stop walking and press my forehead against the cool stone wall.

“Sorry,” I mumble. “I didn't mean to—”

“To what, be honest? Never apologize for that, Violet. You are right. This is what a revolution looks like.”

“What are we going to do with them, Lucien?” I ask. “The royalty. Are we just going to . . . to kill them all?”

“There are many in the Society who wish for that. Blood for blood.”

“What do you think?”

“I think there has been enough death already. I think we should set them to work. See how the others in this city have lived for so long. Make them tear down the Great Wall with their own bare hands.” He sighs. “How I would love to see that. And see the ocean beyond. This city has been isolated for ages. It would be nice to know what is out there.”

The ocean. I'd like to see that, too.

“I'm going to see Rye now,” I say. “Ash got a message to him. He knows about me.”

“That is excellent news! And he will be at the Auction. Tell Garnet. I'm sure he can find a use for Rye and the other companions who will be at the Auction House.”

“I already told him,” I say. “Oh, and I've been reassigned as Carnelian's lady-in-waiting. She knows about me, too. She recognized my voice.” I hear a sharp intake of breath on his end. “She won't tell. I gave her the chance. Even told her to go ahead and do it. But she hates the royalty more than she hates me.”