Ki shan I Romani—
Adoi san’ I chov’hani.
Wherever gypsies go, there the witches are, we know.
Us gypsies had a lot of legends. I wasn’t much of a believer, even though I always kept a set of Major Arcana tarot cards. It was the only thing I’d inherited from my mother—the art of divination.
I only needed one card to reveal a person’s personality and aspirations. Most of my guests tonight wereThe Fool—they were reckless and in need of an adventure to hell. The weakest ones wereThe Lovers—easily tempted and impressed. Some of the most ambitious businessmen I worked with acted likeThe Emperorwhile in fact they were a reversedWheel of Fortune—their loss was my gain.The Hanged Manwas a lost cause I never indulged in business with.
I knew every card. I could read each of their games. But I feared only one card.
I wondered which one she could be?
“Why were you stealing what doesn’t belong to you?” The answer was obvious, but I needed to know how far she was willing to go.
“I know I shouldn’t have done that. I just want to create a perfume. I need something different and… special.” Her voice was trembling, but her determination was stronger than fear. It wasn’t courage—no, she wasn’t that brave.
My mouth set in a grim line.
It was obsession.
“So you devoted your attention to something ugly, repulsive, and poisonous?” I dropped, dangerous and threatening, while the spikes of the flowers bled the naked skin of her arms when she tried to escape me. The thorns locked her up in their embrace, like a rope keeping her at my mercy.
“There is beauty in the ugly,” she replied.
Divine and infernal.
Her own obsession planted a lethal desire in me.
“Lily! Where are you? Lily!” The annoying voice of a man resonated across the garden.
A sharp gasp exhaled through her lips, and I allowed myself to glance at her gracious profile one last time. Then, I disappeared through the dark to head back where I was expected.
There is beauty in the ugly. We’ll test that, Lily Bellerose.
After all, this tale isn’t how a villain was born.
It’s about his rise. His revenge. His obsession.
“Where were you?”
Adonis searched for my attention, but I was gobsmacked by what happened earlier at the greenhouse. It was now hidden by the fog after Radcliff’s departure, as if the whole place mirrored him. However, his all-male musky scent and obscure aura remained like a somber memory.
All my senses were on hyperalert. I felt more alive than I ever had. The adrenaline rush of the fright that this man emanated impregnated my cells. The fear that rolled down my spine was addictive. Something I couldn’t explain had happened.
“Lily? Are you okay?” Adonis asked again, forcing me to regain my perception of reality.
“Yes, everything’s fine.” I smiled, hiding that my only wish was to go back to that greenhouse. All I had in mind was perfume, but Adonis left me no choice but to follow him back to the heart of the party.
“Where is your mask, by the way?”
I realized I’d completely forgotten about it, and I doubted Radcliff would give it back to me. How fairy-tale of me to leave a trace behind. “It’s inside the greenhouse. Maybe I should—”
“It’s okay. Who cares?” He pulled his mask off as well. “There is some crazy shit happening here. There’s a guy who juggles with a fucking parrot on his shoulder, while one woman had plastic surgery done to look like the Joconde.I wouldn’t be surprised if that freak had a wicked dungeon in the basement.”
I laughed at Adonis’s gossip while he demonstrated with gestures and sparkling eyes his adoration and somehow jealousy for this show. We were both obsessed with the universe we discovered tonight.
Him, by the bright and festive side.
