“It’s faked,” she said. “I saw the forgery stand out there.”
“Andre is good, but no one can forge a Counseil document.” He brushed a finger across the cursive embroidery. “The threads have been magied to determine the wearer’s identity. If I wanted to take your place, the coat would kill me.”
She glared. “And the name? It’s my mother’s middle name.”
He shrugged. “I hadn’t noticed. Whatever the case, you’ve already turned your back on what she died for. Here’s your chance to leaveeverythingbehind. You’re free.”
With a flourish, he removed an envelope from his pocket and held it out.
Inside were two papers. Elouise Auclair’s acceptance into Arts Culinaires, signed by the board of Directeurs, and a birth certificate marked with the Arts Humains stamp.
All of it hummed with authority.
Elouise Auclair was, for all these documents told, real.
“How’d you get these?”
“One of my connections created it as a fail-safe.”
Great. Another connection. “A fail-safe for what?”
“Do you really want to know?”
It was a rare invitation from him. She could take his offer without knowing anything more, but Elara knew better. Her mother and theprevious rebels hadn’t thought of everything when they bombed the Senate. They hadn’t thought of the Counseil moving their meeting, and they certainly hadn’t thought of their own devastated families when someone claimed vengeance for their failure.
“Why do you need me to enter?” she asked.
“The Exposé will be held in Souverain Lafontaine’s château. I need a distraction while I look around for a bit.” Fernand code for stealing. “Nothing big, but I need all focus on you for a minute while I slip away.”
“No.” She staggered back toward the door she should’ve never walked through. “No one messes with the Counseil and lives. I’m not one of your naïve little faithfuls anymore, Fernand. I won’t sacrifice everything just so you can line your pockets.”
“Damn it, Elara! It’s not about that. We have a chance to really change things this time!” He raked a hand through his curls. “Lafontaine has something important, something he doesn’t want to get out. If I can find it, maybe I can—”
“Enough! I don’t want to know anything anymore. This isn’t a game!”
Dangling her dreams in front of her as a way to feed his own selfishness was ruthless even for him.
His shoulders drooped, softer. Like the lover he used to be.
“I know it’s not.” Slower this time, like a question, he reached for her fingers, and—damn her—she let him take them and twine them with his own.
“Help me, and you’ll see. We’ll finally be able to turn the tide for the Restes. I just need everyone at the Exposé to look away for five minutes.”
Gaetan would want her to deny him, to get back out there and try to find someone who would take her in. But Gaetan wasn’t starving with nowhere else to go.
The pristine box glimmered just behind Fernand, a clean slate.
And it wasn’t an unreasonable task. Everyone at the Exposé wouldbe looking to impress with their most powerful creations. The Counseil would spend the night being dazzled and distracted. Elara just needed to be a little more head-turning. No. Elouise Auclair had to be a little more head-turning. The documents were solid. Real. The backstory just plausible enough to work and keep her real identity away from anyone who so much as looked twice.
“No one’s asking you to win,” he added. “We both know you won’t even make it through the Exposé into the real rounds.”
The truth stung, especially hearing it from him.
“What if the coat doesn’t work?” she heard herself ask.
He motioned. “Try it.”
“Now?”
