Michael raises an eyebrow. "The Princess?"
"Yes," Mitch responds for me. "Princess Rose Darlingham. You knew her, didn't you? Do you know where she might be?"
Michael stands up straighter and stares at each of us for a long while. It's as if he's interrogating each of us with his eyes, wearing a cryptic expression. The silence grows in length as my hope for finding the princess shrinks.
"Rose Darlingham isn't around anymore," Michael says, shattering the silence with piercing simplicity. "None of the Darlinghams are. The only remaining member of the royal family is Lindsey Darlingham, Rose's daughter."
"So you did know who she was!" I exclaim.
"Well of course," Michael replies, in a tone that suggests that I had better watch my step. "So did Mitchell."
Mitch slumps over a bit, biting his lip.
I'm not angry at Mitch for keeping Lindsey's identity from me for a while; after all, his past is obviously something he's not extremely comfortable sharing with anyone, especially a stranger. But why had Michael lied to me and said that he wasn't sure of Lindsey's identity? Did he just want K.O. and me to try and figure it out on our own? It seems that these Alvarados enjoy watching us run around like rats in a maze. With every conversation, I understand more and more why Mitch can hardly stand them.
"But that's not important right now," Michael replies, strolling over to Avi, Mitch, and me. "You have bigger fish to fry."
"What do you mean?" I ask worriedly, wondering what could possibly be thrown at us next.
"I mean that the four of you have a ball to prepare for," Michael answers simply.
Mitch looks up slightly. "A ball?" He asks quietly.
"A ball?" Avi echos, folding his arms. "What are you on about?"
Michael pulls a small scrap of paper out of his jacket pocket and begins to observe it. "Well, your invitation arrived this morning, specifically for Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Avi Kaplan, and Lindsey Darlingham-Stirling."
"Let me see that," Mitch says, grabbing the paper from Michael's grasp.
Sir Mitchell Grassi, Sir Scott Hoying, Sir Avriel Kaplan, and Lady Lindsey Darlingham-Stirling,
You are cordially invited to a masquerade ball to celebrate the anniversary of Lady Kirstin Maldonado and Sir Jeremy Lynch on the night of 7 August 1650 in the Castello di Rivoli in Rivoli, Italy. Semi-formal attire and mask required. Roses strongly recommended.
"From Captain Lewis," I observe. Avi exhales deeply.
"The Castle of Rivoli," Mitch whispers to himself. "How on Earth did they manage to reserve the Castle of Rivoli for an anniversary ball? She's wanted in every country she's stepped foot in."
"That mask she always wears when fighting comes in handy," Avi says grumpily. "It's probably why she wanted to have a masquerade ball."
"Is the Castle of, uh...Riv...Rav--is that castle well-known?" I ask.
"I'd say so," Mitch replies, staring intently at the invitation. "It's where Rosie and Lindsey used to live. Where I used to work."
A chilling silence fills the room. We're going back to a place where Lindsey had been ripped from her mother's hands and taken away, leaving a brokenhearted Rose behind. And now...
I gulp uneasily. "Kirstin wants us to bring Rose to her at the ball so she can sell her off like cattle."
"Yeah, but the problem is that you've promised her a dead woman," Mitch says with a sigh. "We've made a deal that we can't fulfill, and lord knows that if we even breathe in Kirstin's direction the wrong way it could be deadly."
YOU ARE READING
The Clockmaker and the Pirate - EVERMORE BOOK 1
Fanfiction"The only thing I've wanted my entire life was to die, to die, to die. But then -- by a twist of fate you found yourself onboard my dinky little ship and you flashed your stupid smile and you gave me the opposite," he tells me. "What's that?" I...
