“Don’t be angry when I judge you for it,” she replied.
Ignacio licked his lips, suddenly nervous. “Have you ever seen a face inside the mirrors in the Big Top?”
“That’s sort of the point of them.” She stopped him and took the garment bag. “Take off your clothes,” she ordered. “And do it quickly. It took me ages to find you. The march of showstoppers only lasts ten minutes, so hurry.”
“Pardon?”
She shook the bag. “I’m putting you in this.”
“But I don’t want to wear it.”
“Why were you planning on buying a costume if you weren’t going to wear it?”
“I was trying to get intel from the tailor.”
“A pity that didn’t work.” She unzipped the bag. “Now take off your shirt and pants.”
He started to because he was so used to taking people’s orders, but he stopped himself after he had already unfastened half his buttons. “Wait. What are you up to?”
“Weare about to perform in the most important show of mylife.”
Ignacio balked. “That is the absolute last thing I’m doing.”
“Don’t be so uptight.”
“I’m not.” He peered over his shoulder at the doorway. The line of performers waiting to enter the Big Top had cleared, but still, he didn’t want to say this for anyone else to hear. He edged closer to Esmeralda and watched with curious fascination as her breathing quickened. As her pupils grew wide. If he didn’t know better, he might have let himself believe she was hungry for his presence.
Warmth spread through his insides as she tilted her head up to him. He loved that he towered over her. That from this angle, he could see every part of her so clearly. His knuckles ached to brush against the soft curvature of her jawbone.
This isn’t what you’re here for.
He cleared his throat. “There is something terribly off about this place. The ink—”
Her shoulders slumped. “Not the ink again.”
“But there’s some sort of property inside it. I saw it when Anella—”
“Was that before or after she kissed you?”
“Does that matter?”Did it? Did she care about the kiss? No. That wasn’t important right now.“I saw it again right before the Sánchezes’ accident. That same glinting material was in their cuffs.”
Horns blared from within the Big Top. The guests roared with thunderous applause.
“Can we talk about this later?” she asked.
“But Isawsomething before the sisters’ accident. A…a face within the mirror. It looked evil.”
“Perhaps I hit you in the head with that golden egg a bit too hard.”
“You know me, Dovie. I’m not the type to come up with fanciful tales. That was always your thing.”
And he had loved her for it. He adored the stories she would weave into the night sky. Had he a better imagination, he might have pictured her tales come to life within the stars. But his brain did not work that way. His mother’s had, but Ignacio’s mind worked in facts, and rules, and kept all the information stored in their proper places.
“I know what I saw,” he said. “There is something inside the mirrors.”
“Then being out in front of them is the perfect place to be. Think of it. How else will you get a better view but from center stage?”
“It isn’t the vantage point that concerns me. It’s you.”
