Legendary (Caraval 2)

Seven years ago, a stolen glance at a forbidden deck of cards left an indelible mark on Donatella Dragna. A fleeting vision of the Prince of Hearts doomed her to unrequited love, while the Maiden Death seemed to forecast the disappearance of her mother, Paloma. Now, in the aftermath of the last Caraval, Tella is no longer the carefree girl her sister Scarlett believes her to be. She is bound by a secret bargain with a mysterious friend: to find her mother, she must deliver the one thing he wants more than anything - the true name of Caraval Master Legend. Her only clue is a magical card, the Aracle, which shows her terrifying glimpses of her mother, caged and dying.

When a new Caraval is announced in the Empire's capital city of Valenda, Tella knows she must play. The journey is fraught with secrets. She wakes in a forest beside Dante, a darkly handsome performer whose kisses from the night before she cannot forget, and whose presence she must hide from Scarlett. On the ship to Valenda, desperate for a lead, Tella trades several nights of rest to a fortune-teller for a single piece of knowledge: to learn Legend's name, she must win the game. But when she arrives at the palace, she finds herself locked out, her name mysteriously absent from the guest list. In a moment of reckless charm, Dante saves her by inventing a lie - that Tella is the secret fiancée of the Meridian Empire's notoriously cruel and murderous heir.

The lie takes on a life of its own at the Fated Ball, the first night of Caraval. A magnificent gown arrives from the heir, a man named Jacks, who reveals himself to be none other than Tella's mysterious friend. In the center of a swirling, caged ballroom, he reminds her of their deal before their dance turns into a devastating kiss. It is then she learns his most dangerous secret: he is no mere heir, but the Prince of Hearts, a Fate returned from myth. His kiss does not kill her, but it begins to, cursing her heart to beat ever slower. To save herself, her bargain is changed. She must not only deliver Legend's name, but Legend himself.

As the game unfolds across Valenda, it becomes terrifyingly clear this is no mere performance. The clues whisper of the Fates returning, of a dark object capable of destroying them, and of a prize so rare it cannot be spoken. Tella's quest leads her to a dusty shop of Wanted posters, where she discovers her mother was not Paloma, but Paradise the Lost - a legendary criminal who, eighteen years ago, stole the very Deck of Destiny that held the Fates captive. Tella realizes this deck is the object Legend seeks, and the key to winning his game.

Her search for the cards grows more perilous. She is ambushed by the Undead Queen and Her Handmaidens - real Fates, vicious and corporeal - who leave her broken and bleeding by a moat. It is Dante who finds her, carrying her to a hidden crypt where he and his brother, Julian, heal her with their own magical blood. In the quiet aftermath, in the heart of a cursed garden, Tella confesses everything to Dante - the curse, the bargain, her fear. He promises to help her, to find a way for her to win without sacrificing herself. He proves his word by making a dangerous pact with the Temple of the Stars, a sacrifice that un-curses the magical ring her mother left her, turning it into a key for the vaults where the deck is hidden.

On the final night of Caraval, Empress Elantine's Eve, Tella meets with the dying Empress, who speaks of Paradise the Lost with a strange familiarity. “Don't be like me and settle for the ease of an almost-ending, when you could have the true ending,” she warns. Bolstered, Tella uses her un-cursed ring to enter the vault. With her mother's Deck of Destiny in hand, she has won Caraval. She steps out onto the temple stairs, ready to summon Jacks, only to be met by a low, achingly familiar voice. The first face she sees is Dante's. He is Legend.

The world shatters. Dante is Legend, and Legend is Dante. He is the man she has been tasked to betray, the man she is falling for. Torn between saving her mother and saving the man who just sacrificed a part of himself for her, Tella sees a third path. “I'm being the hero,” she whispers, before pressing her bloodied finger to the card imprisoning her mother. She writes her own name, making the ultimate sacrifice to take Paloma's place. The world dissolves as she is pulled into the paper prison, her story seemingly over.

But Legend is not willing to sacrifice her. As Tella vanishes, he slices open his palm, spilling his own powerful blood over the cursed deck. He speaks ancient, terrible words, breaking the curse not just for Tella, but for her mother and all the Fates trapped within. Tella reappears in his arms, whole but weak. He kisses her as fireworks explode, a kiss that feels less like a beginning and more like a final, heartbreaking good-bye. “I'm still not the hero in your story,” he tells her, before walking away and leaving her on the cold stone steps.

Jacks finds her there, carrying her back to the palace. He reveals the truth of their connection - she is his one true love, the only one whose kiss could make his heart beat again, his single weakness. He keeps his promise, and soon Tella is reunited with her mother, who lies unconscious in Scarlett's bed. The game is over, the Fates are free, and Valenda mourns the death of its Empress. As the city awakens to a new day, it is announced that Elantine's long-lost heir has finally taken his place. From a balcony on the golden tower, Legend looks out upon his new empire.

On the morning of her seventeenth birthday, Tella wakes to find a single red rose and a silver envelope by her bed. The note inside smells of ink and wicked magic, a promise that though the game has ended, their story is far from over. *I believe we have unfinished business,* it reads. *I still owe you a prize for winning Caraval. Find me whenever you wish to collect. I'll be waiting.*