Endless Water, Starless Sky by Rosamund Hodge

Author:Rosamund Hodge
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2018-06-21T00:00:00+00:00

21

“YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL,” SAID Makari. “You might say that I’m doing this for you.” He flashed a bared-teeth smile over his shoulder.

Juliet looked at the ballroom: the high vaults painted red and gold, the polished floor, the cages of weakly hissing revenants.

“You might,” she said. “I wouldn’t.”

Along one wall, servants stood to attention; from the blank, obedient look in their eyes, she guessed they were living dead.

At the center of the ballroom, with an air of infinite loneliness, sat a Catresou girl—Juliet’s own age—with eyes just as blue as hers, but golden curls. Juliet recognized her because once Lord Ineo had taken Juliet to look upon her, that she might understand the depth of her people’s evil. It was the living dead girl who had been locked inside Juliet’s father’s laboratory. She sat now in a wooden chair, free of any visible bonds.

She met Juliet’s eyes. There was intent in that gaze, without any hope.

“But you haven’t met my lady yet,” said Makari.

Juliet looked at him. She recognized his mocking smile from Runajo’s memories and Romeo’s words. Runajo hadn’t cared about him and Romeo had thought the sun rose and set on him and they had both been terribly, terribly wrong.

“Does she have a name?” she asked.

“No,” said Makari. “That’s why I hate your people.” They stood before the dead girl now; Makari grasped her hand, raised her to her feet, and kissed her slowly, passionately. The girl returned the kiss just as hungrily, her fingers grasping at his sleeves, but when he loosed her—she swayed, and said nothing.

“She was the Juliet once,” said Makari, turning to her. “She feared to die, because your people taught her that there was no hope for her.”

Juliet crossed her arms. “If she was ever the Juliet, she would hate you for destroying her people. But that doesn’t matter to you, does it, when you’ve made her living dead and a slave.”

Her voice was calm, measured, but her heart was beating very fast. She wanted to attack now, to snap Makari’s neck in one clean motion the same way she had her father’s. But Runajo and Vai had probably just reached the house. They must be looking for Romeo and Paris right now. She wasn’t sure what power Makari might call on when attacked—if, seeing he was going to lose, he might silently order Paris to kill himself or Romeo—so she had to wait as long as possible. She had to buy them time.

It was lucky that Makari was so in love with talking about himself.

“Oh, she is nothing like the puppets I raise,” said Makari.

“And yet she is silent,” said Juliet, and looked into the other Juliet’s dazed blue eyes. “Is this what you dreamed of, when you were a child suffering the pain of new seals? Is this the price you wanted to pay for loving him?”

The girl looked at Juliet. Then she said, softly but distinctly, “I want to die.”

And for a moment, Juliet felt her heart shudder within her.

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