Zani peeked around the curtain as well. “Magical marvels! We're here. We’re actually here!”
Surprisingly, the first thing that hit Zani wasn’t the sight but thesmell, a cloying, overpowering wave of perfume that made her eyes tear. Beneath it lurked the scent of something foul: unwashed bodies, chamber pots, and the odor of spoiled food.
“They weren’t joking about hygiene in the history books,” she murmured, holding her nose.
Will grimaced. “Makes sense why they doused themselves in perfume. I think I’ve lost my appetite in this century.”
“Keep it together,” Zani whispered. “You need to eat to keep your strength up.” She reached into her bag for one of Will’s macaroons and stuffed it in his mouth.
“Mmmm, do you think you could feed me a couple more?” Will licked the sugar off her fingertips. “That’s definitely helping.”
Zani shoved two more cookies into his hand. “Help yourself. And then let’s get our bearings.”
A few minutes later, they stepped cautiously into a corridor adorned with gilded moldings. Courtiers moved past them in tight clusters. Zani had to struggle not to stare at the women with towering hair and men wearing powdered wigs and doublets embroidered with silver thread. The soft rustling of silk skirts filled the air, punctuated by the whisper of fans that flicked open and closed. The courtiers seemed to use them for concealing murmured conversations and calculated glances.
She was grateful for the cloaks that allowed them to blend in. Paired with their Nip Clips, their disguises seemed to work. Zani and Will appeared so utterly unremarkable that nobody looked at them at all. But the courtiers certainly kept a careful watch on one another, a game that they did little to disguise.
“Everyone’s spying on everyone else,” Will observed under his breath.
“Same old social politics. Reminds me of seventh grade. How little things have changed in five centuries.” Zani rolled her eyes, taking in the scene. Her gaze lingered on the two ladies, who tilted their heads together behind ornate, oversized fans. Their eyes followed a handsome gentleman passing by. “Those fans aren’t just for show, they’re hiding behind them to gossip. Secret alliances, betrayals, scandals. We’re in a nest of vipers pretending to be butterflies.”
Will tugged at his cloak. “That bag of tricks of yours is really paying off. No one’s looking at us like we don’t—” He broke off abruptly, his eyes widening.
Zani followed his gaze and froze. Sauntering casually down the corridor, a leopard on a golden chain moved with deadly grace, led by a bored-looking page boy.
“Catherine’s menagerie,” she breathed. “I’d read about it, but seeing it...”
The leopard’s amber eyes met hers for a heart-stopping moment before it continued on its way, tail swishing.
“Just an ordinary day in the French court, where exotic animals wander the halls,” Will mused. “Nothing unusual here.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a small monkey scurried across the polished floor, chattering as it climbed up a guard’s leg. The man, apparently accustomed to such interruptions, merely sighed and plucked the creature from his uniform, handing it to a passing lady-in-waiting.
“Those weren’t Ordinary animals,” Zani murmured to Will. “I’m pretty sure those two are shifters.”
“Society spies, perhaps?” Will whispered back. “That’s one way to keep tabs on the royal Ordinaries.”
“We need to find the alchemy laboratory,” Zani said, forcing her attention back to their mission. “Whoever penned that charred notebook I found had direct access to the bloodstone amulet. And to have enjoyed that sort of familiarity, he would have had to have been one of Catherine’s personal alchemists.”
“Which way to the royal quarters, then?” Will asked.
Zani studied the flow of activity around them. “Follow the power,” she said. “The more well dressed the courtiers, and the more ornate the surroundings, the closer we get to the queen.”
* * *
They didn’t haveto search for long. At every fork in the road, they chose the more lavish path. Finally, they found themselves in a large antechamber outside what appeared to be Catherine de Medici’s private chambers. A group of rouged and bejeweled courtiers lingered near the entrance, their hushed voices buzzing with anticipation.
“Something’s happening,” Zani whispered, pulling Will behind a gilded marble column.
The ornate doors to the chamber swung open, and the crowd parted. A tall, slender man emerged, his face a mask of cool detachment. Zani’s breath caught in her throat.
Gold and silver symbols intricately embroidered his black robes. Zani recognized the signs of the zodiac. But the most striking thing about the mage was his hair, as glossy and black as a raven’s wing. It set him apart in the hall full of men wearing white powdered wigs.
“Cosimo,” she rasped, her eyes wide.
Will felt her tense beside him. “That’shim? Your vampire?”
“Stop calling himmyvampire.” Zani nodded, as she stared at the man who had helped her outwit the Romanian vampires and steal the stone. Whowouldhelp her? That hadn’t happened yet here.
