“You’re not going to wear the desert-fox mask, are you?” Brajon said.
Silver nodded. “I have to. I don’t completely understand … I feel certain they know who I am! But until I’m sure, I can’t give my identity away until the very last moment. Sagittaria might hide Kirja somewhere that we could never find her.”
“Your soggy mask would look ridiculous with a gown. Trust me to sort it out,” Mele said.
Silver tugged the ends of her ill-cropped hair. She nodded. “Make us worthy of the queen’s audience, Mele, and in return, I’ll bring you both as my squires.”
Mele whooped and Brajon groaned at the same time.
Mele ducked away. Silver paced the little alleyway room, her hands clammy. She knew she was attempting the impossible.
But she couldn’t back out now.
The cousins took turns cleaning up in the washbasin, and by the time they were both scrubbed, Mele had returned, her hands full of boxes. She set them on the ground and opened the first. Inside, a filmy orange gown, heavily beaded, winked at her. It slid over Silver’s skin like water.
“The closest I could get to crystal-sea silk on our budget,” Mele said.
In a smaller box, a matching veil was nestled in delicate paper, along with many strands of jewelry to be draped over Silver’s hair and down her face. Silver touched the coppery metals and semiprecious stones and thought of her father. These items were simpler than anything Rami Batal would make—he would likely think them beneath him—but Silver still felt close to home as Mele attached the veil and jewels.
The last time she’d worn metals and gems like this, she’d felt ashamed, first by the task, and then by Sagittaria Wonder. Now, she would stand before her idol again, but this time, she would meet her triumphantly, winner to winner. Instinctively, her chin lifted.
Mele appraised her, then let out a short breath. “You look regal,” she said. “I almost believe you can actually take on Queen Imea.”
“Believe it, because I have to,” Silver whispered.
But if Silver looked different in her Winners’ Audience attire, it paled in comparison to the change that came over Mele once she stepped into her emerald-green gown and simple veil. It was as though a light, as subtle and warm as a spring desert sunrise, glowed from within her. Her beauty—and she was already very beautiful, with her wide eyes, straight nose, and thick hair—became the stuff of desert lore. Silver wondered if this inner light, this transformation, was what the ancient mystics looked for when they searched the entire nation for a new queen.
“You scrub off nicely,” Brajon said, entering the room and looking at Mele with frank admiration. He turned to his cousin. “And you look about right for a desert fox. How about me?” Brajon put his arms out and turned in a slow circle. His blue tunic was shot through with strands of silver that sparkled as he moved.
“Very nice,” Mele said.
“I’ve seen beetles with more polish,” Silver teased. “But it’ll have to do. Hopefully, no one will throw you out of the palace.”
Brajon clapped his hands. “Happy to have your approval, cousin.”
Silver took a deep breath and pulled her shoulders back. Out the tiny window, twilight had settled over Calidia. “To the queen.”
FORTY-THREE
If Silver had thought she could sneak into the palace, quietly ask Queen Imea for Kirja back, then fly away with no one taking notice, she was mistaken.
She, Brajon, and Mele made their way down the path toward the palace entrance. Calidian lanterns lit the way, and on either side of them, hundreds of revelers were tossing orange and pink flower petals, waving sparklers, cheering, and even flying paper dragon kites high overhead. The noise was deafening, and Silver was glad the veil hid her shock and uneasiness. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the friendly guard in the throngs. Silver almost went to him to say hello, but she remembered that he thought she was a lowly squire. She shrank back, sad to be embroiled in so many lies. She couldn’t wait for when she could just be Silver Batal again.
Silver snuck a look at Brajon and Mele, and saw that they were both as speechless as she was.
“Stand tall. Don’t slump.” A gentle hand took her elbow. Ferdi’s warm eyes gazed down at Silver as he joined the group.
“What are you doing here? You—”
“Lost my race to an upstart with a mythical dragon?” The island boy’s eyes danced in the lantern light, and he gave her a crooked grin. His long white brocade jacket glimmered over gold-threaded leggings. He looked like he belonged in a royal palace. “Fortunately, I didn’t need to win to get an invitation tonight.”
Silver thought back to his shared laugh with Sagittaria Wonder. “Because you’re Sagittaria’s friend? Then why should I trust you?”
“Because I haven’t turned you over to the guards?” Ferdi made an exasperated sound. “You should be glad I’m here. I have chaos to create, remember?” He nodded at the crowds. “You don’t have to do much to create chaos, though. Look at all those people whispering. They’re desperate to know who the girl is behind the mysterious disguise.”
“They’ll be disappointed to discover she’s a failed ele-jeweler from a nowhere city out in the scrubbiest corner of the desert.”
“Or a great water dragon racing champion. Hmm…” Ferdi looked over Silver’s head. “Am I walking with the wrong person? I’ve never heard Desert Fox say anything that wasn’t a grand boast.”
Silver surprised herself by laughing. She wasn’t sure why he was being so mysterious, but he had, after all, been instrumental in helping her win the race. She didn’t know how she would have gotten past the whirlpool without him.
“It’s all just a little overwhelming,” she said.
“If you think this is something, look there.” Ferdi pointed straight ahead.
The foursome crossed a short white marble bridge over a stream and walked under a thick arch striped with gold. As the palace entrance opened up before them, Silver’s breath caught in her throat.
Silver’s and Mele’s slippers softly shushed over elaborate stone murals inlaid in the floor, depicting desert scenes. Ferdi’s and Brajon’s boots clicked on polished tile, each featuring a tiny painted water dragon. More tiles lined the walls—millions of colorful, glittering squares as small as the tip of a thumb—and Silver realized that the tiles weren’t clay; they were precious stones. Swirls of lapis depicted the waves of the sea, while carnelian and agate formed the dunes of the desert. There were gardens whose flower petals were made of amethyst and garnet, and panels of well-known desert motifs separating each scene.
The ceilings soared overhead, rising and dipping in domes and arches, supported by intricate, lacy metalwork so fine Silver found herself growing dizzy as she tried to see it.
They passed under another archway and entered a plaza. Three sides of the square were bordered with waterways, while an orchard of miniature fruit trees and carved stone benches created a lush centerpiece. This time, when Silver looked up, it was the Calidian stars that winked back at her. People paused here, milling about with glasses of cordial and picking delicate pastries and finger foods off the trays that were being passed around by servers in all white. Music drifted over from some corner of the courtyard, while tiny gemstone lanterns, in the style of Jaspaton, cast a muted, colorful glow over everything.
“Don’t stop now,” Ferdi said. “The throne room is through there.”
“You know a lot about this place,” Brajon said, busy filling his hands with flaky meat pies and crunchy crystalized nuts. Mele held a glass of cordial, which she sipped delicately, but Silver’s stomach was so knotted she couldn’t imagine eating or drinking.