Page 12 of Gilded Wicked Mirrors
A snake coiled in Quinn’s stomach. It wasn’t a foregone conclusion, and she hated that he thought it was.
“I could leave and not make any deal at all.”
“Then you would get the bad luck.”
“I know stubbornness is a trait of redheaded ballerinas, but if we could just get this done, I have places to be.”
“Stuck inside a mirror?”
“You’ve seen my realm.” He motioned to everything around them. “Maybe I want to frolic through the fields.”
Now, he was being a condescending prick like Emrys. But if he wanted to get rid of her, that was a good thing because it meant he wouldn’t trap her inside his realm.
So Quinn decided to move on, let it go, and focus on the implications of the possible deal. “What if I can’t kiss the prince with passion?”
“Then I assume it will be a very disappointing kiss.”
Jane snorted, and both the god and Quinn flashed her a glare.
All the possible outcomes and potential issues with the bargain filtered through Quinn’s head. It was torture. The cost was unimaginably cruel. But if she accepted the deal, even if she failed to kiss Emrys passionately, she wouldn’t get the bad luck. If she succeeded, she would have the key to her auditions. Besides being extremely painful, it seemed like a win-win for her. So then, what was the catch? She voiced the question out loud.
“There is no catch.” He ran a hand down his face as if he were exhausted by her. “You’re Jane’s family. I will give you a good deal. Kiss the gentleman, and you will get your artistry. Fail, and you incur whatever consequences the magic has for you.”
Quinn inhaled sharply. It was foolish to trust a mirror,especially Beautiful Decay. But she wanted to trust Jane, and Jane trusted this strange Bargainer. Quinn ran logic loops in her head, tracing all the possibilities and traps in his words. But it seemed straightforward. Besides, the alternative was seven years of bad luck, which just couldn’t happen.
She nodded again and said, “I accept your deal.”
“Wonderful.” He clapped his hands. “Oh, and remember, dearest Quinnevere. If you don’t at least try to kiss Emrys, you will receive seven years of bad luck. Trust me, your life is about to fall apart, and you probably won’t survive it, even with good luck.”
Five
“All aboard,” the cable car conductor yelled at the Spirit Sector Cable Car Station.
A daze had settled over Quinn’s mind, and she wasn’t even sure where Jane had led her after they’d left the mirror. She’d accepted the deal, but instant foreboding filled her blood. Had she been tricked? Nightshade said,your life is about to fall apart, and you probably won’t survive it with good luck, let alone bad luck.
Did he give her terrible consequences, or did he simply foresee the future and warn her? No one truly knew how mirror bargains worked, and Nightshade was the worst among them. But maddeningly, it was unclear whether he was helping or hurting.
Yet somehow, he was Jane’s friend.
“All aboard,” the cable car conductor yelled again. “On or off, but we are leaving.”
Leaving.Quinn blinked, and the world returned to focus on the cable car in front of her.
“We can’t leave. Giselle hasn’t come back yet,” Jevon Yale said, his eyes wild and worried. “She went to buy machinery parts while we waited, but she’s not back.”
“The next car comes in thirty minutes,” the conductor informed them. “Either you get on now, or you wait or walk.”
Fuck.They had to get on the cable car now. Quinn had to kiss Emrys by midnight. Fuck. Why did she agree to that?
“We need to leave,” Jane said as she slid onto the cable car's redwood bench. “Quinn has a deal to accomplish, and I have to get the Viridian and meet Emrys to—” Jane swallowed, cutting herself off. “Giselle will catch up to us.”
“Wait.” Quinn rounded on Jane. “Why are you meeting with Emrys? Is it about my deal?”
Jane’s eyes caught on the row of mirrors they’d just left but then turned back to Quinn. “No, I need to talk to Prince about Castle Hill business. It’s really just silly matters about ballet studios and other nonsense.”
“This conversation can wait. We need to get on the cable car,” Constance said, grasping Quinn’s wrist and pulling her into the car.
“But Giselle’sso late,” Jevon whispered.
