Page 59

“Please. Tobias. Don’t leave me now. I don’t have her …” His voice interrupts my thoughts.

I should say no. I should be the one to walk away. I know whatever he promised the souls, that swirl and darken even now at the edges of the tent, isn’t good … but I can’t help but think of all the times he helped me. He was the one who taught me the magic of illusions. The one who saw a poor boy on the streets and thought I had potential after my parent’s deaths.

So instead of saying no, I reach out, putting my hand on his forearm.

“Show me how I can help you.”

* * *

I look at Emerson, no longer hiding the centuries of pain in my eyes. The weight of my failure — of not stopping Joshua when I had the chance — presses down on me heavier than his magic.

“If one must be sacrificed,” I say quietly, each word an effort, “it should be me. I’ve carried this guilt long enough."

“No,” Emerson whispers, then louder she screams, “NO!"

Something shifts in the air — a change in pressure, a surge of power that steals my breath. The brand on her skin begins to glow white-hot, and I feel The Carnival’s magic responding to her in a way I’ve only felt once before. The ground beneath us trembles, and for the first time in centuries, the golden threads reverse in their callings. No longer swimming towards Joshua ... but towards her.

Chapter 38

Joshua’s eyes widen slightly. “Interesting,” he murmurs, stepping closer to me. “But it changes nothing. Choose, or I choose for you."

He waves his hand and both men scream in renewed agony. The sound tears through me like the glass still on the floor from Tobias’s mirrors, slicing deeper than any knife Kenan has ever thrown.

“If you won’t decide, I’ll take the knife-thrower. He’ll make an excellent addition to our ... special entertainments in the In-Between realm. Especially since he skipped out the first time.”

“The first time?” I ask, dreading the answer but buying more time as I feel the power calling to me ... flooding me, filling spaces I never knew were empty.

Joshua’s broken face forms a hideous smile. “As I’m sure you know, The Carnival exists even when it’s not on Earth, Emerson. And in those long, boring years between appearances, we need ... diversions. Your Kenan would serve the Patrons well. Used at their will, their plaything for eternity. Tobias took his place the first time.”

I look at Tobias, whose eyes are filled with a pain so ancient it steals my breath. The Carnival’s history floods through me in flashes as I imagine it — Tobias, younger, desperate, offering himself to spare Kenan. The torture he endured. The love that drove him to such sacrifice. Even before, as he mentioned, he was the first to be cursed. The way he’s stood by for so many years.

I look at Kenan, who’s fought for me since the first night. Apparently enough to cause a rift between him and Tobias’s relationship, as he waged war against what he was supposed to do. The way he came in with teeth bared to help me.

Fury explodes within me. The Carnival’s magic responds, crackling across my skin like lightning. Every hair stands on end around us as the world seems to shimmer. The symbols on the ground begin to glow brighter, but not with Joshua’s power—with mine.

“You will not touch him,” I growl, feeling something primal and powerful awakening inside me. My voice sounds strange to my own ears, layered with echoes. “Either of them."

Joshua laughs, but there’s uncertainty in his eyes now. They dart from me to the glowing symbols, then to the faces pressing closer in the tent walls. “You have no choice, little girl. The Carnival demands a sacrifice. It’s been this way for centuries."

“Then perhaps,” I say, my voice strangely calm as power builds within me, “it’s time for things to change."

I look at Tobias, his blonde hair matted with blood, his blue eyes fierce despite the pain, the way they look at me. A silent nod, as if I have all of his faith. Then at Kenan, dark and dangerous, even in his vulnerability, struggling to catch a breath — he’s still fighting. A silent communication passes between us. They can see it, the lines of power no longer surging to The Ringmaster ... but to me.

The Big Top begins to tremble. Dust and sequins rain down from above like strange snow, catching in my hair, speckling my skin with carnival stars. The faces in the walls press closer, watching, waiting. I spot my sister’s eyes among them, a desperate hope kindling within them.

“What are you doing?” Joshua demands, his voice rising with genuine alarm. “Stop this at once!"

But I can’t stop it now. The power builds and builds, The Carnival’s magic responding not to his commands but to something else entirely — to the love between Tobias, Kenan, and me. A love without possession. A love without sacrifice.

The exact opposite of the twisted devotion that created this cursed place.

“The Carnival doesn’t want innocent souls,” I realize aloud, the truth revealing itself through the magic flowing through me. Each symbol on the ground shifts, rearranging into patterns that feel right, that feel true. “That was your corrupted perception, your twisted interpretation. You wanted something back that was innocent, and so instead it became a place that takes it.”

Joshua’s face contorts with rage. Cracks spread across his features, parts of his mask now falling away. “You know nothing!"

“I know enough,” I counter, stepping toward him as the ground cracks beneath my feet. Each step leaves a glowing footprint. “I know that true love doesn’t demand sacrifice. It offers protection."

The walls of the Big Top begin to warp and bend as my power grows. The trapped spirits stir, their whispers turning to a roar of hope and vengeance. I can hear my sister’s voice among them, calling my name. Joshua staggers back, his composure fracturing along with his face.