I will always protect you.
Because of his openness, she had felt confident enough to answer every question he fluttered her way. One exchange floated to the surface.
Dovie. What scares you most in this world?
To be left alone with no one to love me. You?
To be a disappointment.
Dovie. Where do you dream of living someday?
I think I’d like to live in a meadow filled with flowers. Somewhere where I can twirl and sing and laugh and be as loud as I want.
What about you?
I’ve always loved looking up at the galaxies. So, I suppose someplace that offers a clear view of the sky.
You’re in luck. I heard meadows are perfect for stargazing.
Hot sorrow clogged in her throat. Where had that kind boy gone? When did he decide his father and the Blackbirds were more valuable than her? The day he learned of his enlistmentinto training camp, she’d told Ignacio everything his father had done. She’d been the comandante’s little spy for years by then; she knew the horrors he’d inflicted upon the people in this kingdom. She knew about the business owners he blackmailed. The family members he ransomed to keep court officials in line. She’d told Ignacio that. But he didn’t care. He joined the Blackbirds anyway.
“You and I have both made our choices. What is in the past is in the past,” she said.
He glared at anything but her. “Fine. If that’s how you want it, I won’t bring us up again.”
The wordussliced against her heart.
He lowered his voice. “But I must tell you about Anella’s lock. Someone tampered with it. It has the same makeup as what is inside the enchanted ink. I need to find whoever has access—”
“That’s really all you care about? Getting answers for your daddy. Hiding his secrets.”
“I’m trying to do what’s right.”
“Your version of right is much different than mine. It always was. It always will be.”
He scoffed. “How little you know.”
The parade floats entered Clown Alley, where they would be hosed down and readied for the march of showstoppers when the Big Top show began. The moment the floats came to a full stop, Ignacio left the cage.
Esmeralda gulped. She had half a mind to chase after him. To kiss away the marks Anella had made and squeeze him untilhe loved her back. Instead, she slowly eased off the swing and straightened her shoulders.
When she stepped toward the cage door, she blinked rapidly in surprise.
Lying on the grass was a black envelope stamped with bell-shaped flowers surrounding a hand mirror.
She snatched it up. Tore the seal open and pulled out the card. The words on it were written in iridescent ink.
Congratulations to our reigning birdcage thief!
Your fast thinking has shown versatility beyond belief.
Your resourcefulness has gotten you through.
Now get ready, Paloma Blanca, for challenge number two!
(But first, kindly return Estefan’s enclosure to the menagerie before Jade loses her temper.)
26th of August, 1917. D+P: Age 14
