Martin’s nostrils flared. He stared at her adoringly.
“Ex-boyfriend,” Nico said.
“What did you say?”
“You heard me.” Nico lunged for Camille, the pocket mirror already out and flashing.
Her mouth twitched. Camille picked up a stone arrow and used it to knock the mirror out of Nico’s hand. Then she used it like a sword, swiping at him as he dodged and backed into the wall. “Martin is mine,” she said, pressing the tip of the arrow against his jaw. “Someone like you doesn’t deserve him. Filthy canal boy.”
Zita watched with amusement. “Go on. Show me how strong your charm is.”
Camille grinned. “Nicolas Barnes is threatening me. Be a good boyfriend and protect me.”
Fallon tensed. She saw Bram bend down to reach for his gun, but Ms. Ward put her hand over his.
Martin walked slowly. The light caught his glasses, hiding his eyes.
“Go on,” Camille said. “Protect me.”
Martin snuck up behind her and wrenched the vial of perfume from her hand. “That’s enough,” he said in a loud, clear voice. “This is not vice president behavior. I ask that you resign before I take this matter to the administration. Step away from my treasurer.”
Camille sputtered.
Nico’s eyes widened, amazed.
“Finally, I have the proof I need,” Martin said, studying the vial of perfume in his hands. When he looked up, he spoke directly to Nico. “After months of suffering the effects, I didn’t want her to suspect her charm stopped working once it did. I kept pretending. For that, I’m sorry.” Then he held out his hand.
Nico took his hand and gasped when Martin pulled him into a tight hug.
“Thank you for saving me, Nicolas. Twice now,” he said shyly.
Zita took in the scene with disdain. With the flick of her fingers, the stone cupids flapped their wings and notched their arrows. Some cupids aimed at Camille.
Camille laughed nervously. “I can still make that potion, I swear.”
“I doubt that.” Zita said dryly. “This has gone on long enough; none of you will leave my labyrinth alive.”
Fallon squeezed her eyes shut, anticipating the pierce of a stone cupid’s arrow, pain far worse than the grip Zita still had on her hair. But no fatal blow came.
Her eyes cracked open just in time to see the stone cupids drop their bows and arrows as a newcomer entered the room. The boy’s eyes twinkled; he wore an oversize black jacket that made swishing noises as he walked. Chewed up sneakers. Tape player in hand. The key around his neck was no longer broken. The boy from the library, Fallon thought.
“Inés Aandekerk,” the boy said.
“Love,” Zita said.
Fallon felt Zita’s grip on her hair loosen. She pulled free and scrambled back to the group. Ms. Ward tried to look at her hands, but Fallon curled them into fists, still clutching the figurine, as she returned to Sebastian’s side. He was barely breathing. The love fortune written into his skin had faded; she traced the words with her eyes, willing them to disappear completely. They didn’t.
The boy crossed the room, sliding his eyes over the loom and model. He reached for Sebastian’s snapped string and ran it between his fingers. “Taking another’s life for your own benefit … Inés, you know that’s not allowed.”
“He deserves to die,” Zita spat. “All Barringers deserve it. I should have killed his father and ended the line earlier, but I thought that trapping Etienne Barringer in a loveless marriage would be enough.”
“But it wasn’t.” Love dropped the string. “You’re still wearing your wedding dress.”
Fallon looked again at Zita’s dress. The bodice laced up the back, the sleeves made of the finest lacework now dull and gray with age. At one point, pearls must have hung from the skirts. Maybe there had been a veil and a bouquet of dead roses.
“If Sebastian was awake, I would tell him why you’re wearing such a dress.” Love walked over to where Zita stood, glaring. “This experiment is a failure, Inés. It was a fool’s dream to think that I could save people by telling them how their romantic lives would unfold. I shared my power with you, and the entire time you only wanted to use it for your own revenge.”
“He abandoned me,” Zita said, “and married another.”
Fallon knew who she was talking about. “Sebastian’s grandfather was dying. He left you because he knew you couldn’t handle it.”
“I waited for him at the altar,” she said distantly, “and he never showed up.”
A look of pity crossed Love’s face. “It’s time,” he said.
He pressed a button on his tape player, flooding the underground with a brooding tango heavy with violins. The music did more than take the air. Zita’s skin began to shrivel. Purple and yellow spots marked her delicate collarbone. Her hair grew thin and gray. She backed up into the stone wall, screeching. Camille watched her boss’s transformation with a mixture of shock and impatience.
Zita unraveled before their eyes. Thousands of words spilled from her skin like smoke, each sentence matching Zita’s red handwriting. Her hands and feet burst into poetry that smelled of roses and bitterness too potent to understand. The red words were fortunes too, spilling from her torso like an overturned bucket of lace. Fallon thought she tasted her own tampered-with fortune as words whizzed by her and escaped through the walls. Nothing was left of Zita afterward.
Love turned off the tape player with a heavy sigh. The last notes from the music echoed in the labyrinth. Love turned to face them, his expression brightening when he saw Hijiri. “I know what you’ve been working on. The greatest love charm of all.”
“I don’t know if it’ll ever work.”
“I’m here now,” he said, sitting cross-legged near Sebastian’s head.
Hijiri placed a few items on the floor; one Fallon recognized as the fern leaves that Hijiri had gathered from the patio. She saw orange zest, rose petals, and three other liquids that she couldn’t place. Hijiri poured the items together and ground them with her knuckles, her bangs covering her eyes.
Love touched Fallon’s hand. “Get ready, Miss Dupree. You’re going to perform a true-love kiss.”
“I am?”
“You saved his life by snapping the string,” Love said, “but the fortune’s power still has a hold on him. He can’t wake without a miracle.” A kiss.
Fallon wanted to believe the boy. She looked over at Sebastian’s face and her heart withered. His skin was cold, his mouth turned down. Barely breathing.
“Trust your friend’s skills,” Love said.
“The charm’s ready,” Hijiri said. She dipped her fingers in the mixture and spread it over Fallon’s lips. “This charm works just like the charms in the storybooks do, Fallon. Kiss him, and your love will bring him back.”
The charm tingled on her lips. She fought the urge to wipe it off. Fallon tucked her hair behind her ears and hovered over Sebastian’s mouth.
“Not there!” Hijiri hissed.
Love snorted.
Fallon stared at her, puzzled.
“Over his heart. One charm counteracts the other.”
Fallon sighed, not wanting to argue. She had read enough fairy tales to know it was always a kiss on the lips. But this wasn’t a fairy tale. Sebastian was breathing and Love was there, and maybe this wasn’t a miracle, but the erasing of a future that wasn’t meant to be. One kiss could correct it. Fallon wasn’t about to kill the hope swelling inside her.
Before she closed her eyes, she saw the faded love fortune. Go away, she thought feverishly. Don’t you dare touch him ever again. Her lips found the soft skin covering his heart.
Something bright burned beneath her eyelids. Her head began to throb again. She pulled back, expecting to see a change.
He didn’t move.
“Just wait,” Hijiri said. “This is where it starts.”
The love fortune turned from red to gold, then flaked off his skin like paper. Sebastian drew a sharp breath.
The blue disappeared from his lips and fingertips. A healthy glow colored his cheeks. When his eyes opened, he looked up at Fallon. “If you’re not a princess now…” he said faintly, smirking.
Fallon bit her lip, her heart racing. “Close your eyes. Please.”
Her hands burned. Her heart pounded. None of that mattered. This was her first kiss, and she was going to make it a proper one. Fallon gingerly touched the back of his neck and brought his mouth to hers.
For someone who smirked so much, Sebastian’s lips were soft. When he kissed her back, pulling her close in front of everyone, she didn’t care. His hands were warm on her skin as he cupped her face, and she lost herself in the tender way he kissed her.
Sebastian was finally free of Zita’s twisted fortune. So was she. Grimbaud would no longer be trapped in Love’s name.
Love cleared his throat. His eyes were filled with admiration as he helped Hijiri to her feet. “Grimbaud is going to need a love charm-maker who brings my messages as they are meant to be. You have a loving heart and a noble spirit. I would gladly share my powers with you.”
The room went quiet as Hijri digested Love’s offer.
“I can take over,” Camille said. “I’m responsible. I won’t make mistakes like Zita did.”
Love curled his lip and turned from her. “What do you say, Hijiri?”
“No one should replace Zita,” Hijiri said with a sad smile. “I think your experiment has failed. People shouldn’t know their romantic fates. Because the truth is that it changes.”
“Depends on the people,” Love said.
“Then let people depend on themselves. Let them mend and break their hearts together. Being blind isn’t such a bad thing.”
Love sighed and swiped the anti-rose-colored glasses from Hijiri’s head. He peered into them and laughed. “So be it, then. I’ll be here, though you may never know me for who I am.”
“I always will,” Hijiri said. “I’ll become the best love charm-maker. Just you watch.”
Love shook her hand. “I’ll hold you to it.” He addressed the rest of the rebels. “I’ll take care of the mess Zita’s left behind. The tornado charm caused some damage aboveground; your allies have noticed and they’re on their way here. Sebastian and Fallon will need to be carried. They’re not going to make it out of this labyrinth on their own feet.”
Fallon knew that Sebastian wasn’t, but she felt fine. Just a headache. Her hands still stung, but she could ignore it until they got to the surface again. Fallon tried standing, but her world titled slightly. She moaned and rubbed her head.
Love was at her side. “You snapped one of those strings. A human can’t touch those.”
“I’m fine, really; I’m fine.”
“Let them carry you.” Love patted her on the head. “Sebastian’s lucky to have fallen in love with a Dupree. Generations of strong, stubborn hearts. I couldn’t have given you all the answers, but you trusted your instinct enough to get you through.”
Love’s words gave her strength as they began the long trek out of the labyrinth. Without the cheating charm, they relied on Ms. Ward’s stamps. Shouts came from the exit; she recognized Yasmine’s voice along with a few more bachelors and spinsters who were searching for them as Love predicted.
“It’s not midnight yet,” Sebastian teased. “Maybe we can still catch the fireworks.”
Fallon’s eyes grew heavy. Her fingers slipped out of Sebastian’s. Ms. Ward murmured something comforting. She felt herself being lifted and all went dark.
chapter 25
HEART’S SECRET
Fallon snapped awake when she heard the sounds of pots and pans clanking. Her body felt heavy; she struggled for a minute before realizing that someone had tucked her into bed tightly, the sheets taut and the comforter pulled up to her chin.
She was in her apartment back at the complex. Her nose picked up the familiar scent of lavender on her sheets, as well as mouth-watering eggs and freshly squeezed orange juice coming from the kitchen.
Despite the mid-afternoon light drenching the room, she still asked, “Did I miss the fireworks?”
“If by fireworks you mean your parents, then no. They’ve been here all night taking care of you. Your brother too,” Nico said, stepping into the room. He carried a tray of orange juice and toast. “The eggs are on the way.”
Fallon sat up in bed. She looked down at her bandaged hands, surprised and pleased when they didn’t hurt. She flexed her fingers. “Where’s Sebastian?”
Nico lowered his voice, careful not to attract her family’s attention from the kitchen. “Bram and the bachelors took him to the hospital last night, just to be safe. The doctors believed he’d had a heart attack.”
That was no heart attack. Fallon recalled the love fortune scrawled across his skin and shivered. “So, he’s okay now?”
“Discharged this morning. His grandmother’s with him,” Nico said.
“What about me? Do my parents know what happened?”
“They found you in bed by the time they wrestled the spare keys from Mrs. Smedt. Ms. Ward had brought you home right after you passed out.” Nico gave her a wry smile. “You look awful. I’m sure you can come up with a good excuse.”
The moment Fallon took a bite of toast, her stomach sprang to life, demanding sustenance. She concentrated on chewing slowly.
“I’d better go,” Nico said. “Martin’s waiting for me.”
“Is he?”
“I should be mad at you for culling that confession out of me,” he said sternly, “but I’m too thankful to care.”
“You’d never have told him your feelings otherwise. I had to be sneaky.” Fallon smiled. She was thrilled to know that Martin had heard Nico after all. That had to have been what had broken Camille’s hold over him. “Don’t keep me in suspense. How does Martin feel about you?”
His expression softened. “He likes me, but the concept of liking a boy is so new to him. He doesn’t know how to act. It’s kind of cute.”
Fallon almost laughed at his words. She’d been friends with Nico long enough to know that he had never dated anyone. If Martin was new at this, so was Nico. “Go on, then. Don’t want to keep your boyfriend waiting. Thank you for checking on me.”
Nico beamed. “Anais says hi too. She expects to see you at the drugstore once you’re feeling better.”
Just as he left, her parents emerged from the kitchen with a heaping plate of sunny-side up eggs. Robbie followed behind, untying an apron he’d borrowed from her.
“Fallon Dupree, you’ve had us worried sick,” Mrs. Dupree said.
“Well, not sick, exactly,” Mr. Dupree said. “You’re the one who’s been immobilized by a bad decision.”
“So what was it?” Robbie said, more curious than angry. “Sugar-free ice cream? Dirty ice in your soda? Undercooked meat?”
Mrs. Dupree trembled. “Not another word. I’m going to faint.”
Fallon sighed, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around her. So they thought she had food poisoning?
“We were going to surprise you at the Welcome Love Fair,” Mr. Dupree explained. He placed the plate of eggs on the tray and handed her a fork, willing her to eat. “When we couldn’t find you, we got worried.”
“Maybe we should move here, just to watch over her,” Mrs. Dupree said. “This town’s perfection ends at its health inspectors. Nothing would get past our eyes.”
Fallon pierced one of the yokes, scooping the delicious mess on her fork. A Dupree army had cleaned her apartment while she had slept; not a speck of dust hovered in the air. She felt clean and loved, albeit still tired. She wanted to thank them, but her mother had fallen quite deeply into one of her tirades.
“But my daughter isn’t concerned with health inspecting anymore,” Mrs. Dupree said, sniffing. “Wants to be a librarian now. I suppose you want us to cancel the table decorations for your wedding too. You’d rather have the venue at a dusty old library instead.”
“Mom’s talking about your i
maginary wedding again,” Robbie said, laughing.
Fallon yawned. She pressed her forehead against the blanket and wished that they would let her nap. “You always use that against me, Mom.”
“You should be happy that your father and I care that much about you. You’ve been single entirely too long for my liking. Zita must have gotten your fortune wrong.”
Robbie gasped in mock outrage. “Mother, that’s blasphemy to speak of Zita like that!”
Fallon’s chest tightened. She looked up, ready to blame her sudden fatigue on her fake stomach virus, when she noticed that her apartment door was open. Nico must have forgotten to lock it after he left.
Sebastian braced his hand on the doorframe, wearing a wrinkled white undershirt and jeans. He took in the scene with his usual smirk. “Hey, princess,” he said softly.
Fallon dropped her blanket. Her cheeks flushed, embarrassed to have her family as an audience, but she didn’t hesitate to go to him. “Your heart…?”
“Perfectly sound,” he said. Sebastian walked over and gently brushed her hair away from her face. Her gaze fell to his lips. Remembering their first kiss, something low in her belly ached.
Mrs. Dupree cleared her throat. “Fallon, is he … is he the one?”
The Dupree family waited, expectant.
Fallon studied the creases on his shirt. “We’ll see.”
Despite her noncommittal answer, Mrs. Dupree claimed she heard wedding bells.
* * *
There was no snow on February 1, nor on any day after. People claimed that the Welcome Love Fair finally served its purpose that year by bringing spring early, but Fallon knew the warmer weather marked a new chapter for Grimbaud.
Love Being Cherished had been moved back to its home in the park. A celebration was being held. The town was in the mood to entertain.
On her way to the park, only Fallon seemed to notice how crisp the air tasted in the absence of Zita’s cloying rose scent. The shops’ electric signs flickered on and off mysteriously in the middle of the day. Heating charms went on sale immediately.
Sebastian bought her truffles from an enthusiastic chocolatier; some bitter like tears, others spicy and sweet. They shared the last one by messily splitting it in half, licking dark chocolate filling off their fingers.
Love Fortunes and Other Disasters Page 24