Finale

Scarlett awakens to find herself in a room filled with opulent yet twisted decor, including gilded cherub heads with animal eyes and frescoes depicting human-animal hybrids. Disoriented and nauseous from being drugged, Scarlett realizes that she is not on Nicolas’s ship or anywhere near Valenda. Instead, she has been transported to one of the eight Fated places: the Menagerie.

Scarlett finds a young woman, Anissa, imprisoned in a giant gilded cage. Just as Scarlett begins to contemplate either escaping or freeing the girl, Gavriel appears. He greets Scarlett and calls her “auhtara” (207), which he explains means “daughter” in his native language. He tells her that she is not entirely human and has the potential to become a Fate like him. Though Scarlett is horrified, she tries to play along. She tells him about her ability to see emotions in color, which impresses him. He offers her two futures: one where she rules beside him, crowned and adored, and another where she is caged like Anissa, the Lady Prisoner. When he leaves, Anissa warns Scarlett that transformation is inevitable and that Gavriel will stop at nothing to turn Scarlett into what he desires.

In a dream, Tella finds herself wandering the abandoned ballroom of Idyllwild Castle. Everything is dim, faded, and broken, from the rusty fountains to the glitter-strewn floors. She hopes to find Legend, but instead, she finds Jacks, who lounges near the center of the room. He taunts her, saying that she secretly wants him there. He again offers to take away her pain and make her forget losing Legend and her mother, in exchange for surrendering her emotions to him. Tella is tempted but resists, and she tells him that she doesn’t want him. Jacks laughs and says that part of her must want him, or he wouldn’t be in her dream at all.

Scarlett is wary of the Fate Anissa, who insists that she wants to help and cannot lie. Anissa tells Scarlett that Gavriel has already sent other Fates to kill Legend; she reports that the Murdered King and Undead Queen are wreaking havoc in Valenda to create chaos so that Gavriel can swoop in and “save” it. A horrified Scarlett decides to use the Reverie Key to find Julian. When she concentrates on him, she lands in a barn on Nicolas’s estate. Finding Julian safe but exhausted, Scarlett throws herself into his arms and kisses him. She tells him that she will always choose and love him, no matter what. Julian then reveals that while they were apart, he got a tattoo on his arm to represent her: a crimson star. He’d gotten the tattoo so that he wouldn’t forget her, since he did not know if they would ever be together again. They kiss again but are interrupted by Tella, who peers down from the hayloft above.

Relieved, Tella embraces Scarlett and tells her how worried she’s been. Scarlett apologizes for not disclosing her whereabouts and admits that meeting with Nicolas was a mistake. Tella tells her that Nicolas is dead, likely murdered by Gavriel, and Scarlett realizes that her indecision may have cost Nicolas his life.

Scarlett decides not to keep any secrets. She tells Tella and Julian everything, including the truth that Gavriel is her birth father. Tella responds by reassuring Scarlett that nothing has changed between them. Julian echoes the sentiment but tentatively asks if this means that Scarlett is now a Fate. Scarlett insists that she isn’t but confesses that she’s afraid she might be turning into one. She initially only had the ability to see her own emotions, but now she can see the emotions of others. Suddenly, Timber, Nicolas’s dog, begins barking at the barn entrance.

Tella, Scarlett, and Julian follow Timber to an old amphitheater on the estate’s grounds. There, they find the missing servants strung up like marionettes and forced to perform a pantomime. They suspect the culprit is “Jester Mad,” a Fate known for animating objects. The trio work frantically, cutting the cords to save the staff. Afterward, Tella vows to stop the Fates in order to make up for her role in freeing them.

Back at the estate, while tending to the servants, Tella invites Scarlett inside to rest, but Scarlett refuses. Scarlett tells her sister that she intends to return to Gavriel because the key to defeating him may lie in becoming what he wants. If she can master her powers, she might be able to force Gavriel to feel love, turning him human and making him vulnerable. Tella and Julian argue against the plan, but Scarlett insists that this is her choice; it is her only way to help stop the Fates. Tella ultimately supports her sister’s decision, and Scarlett promises to use the Reverie Key again if things go wrong.

As Scarlett prepares to return to the Menagerie, she says goodbye to Julian. He doesn’t try to stop her from going, but he does ask for honesty and communication in the future. Scarlett promises to send letters using the Reverie Key to reassure him that she is safe. He also warns her that the power she hopes to use to defeat Gavriel could end up controlling her instead. Scarlett tries to dismiss his fears but realizes how often she has come to rely on magical tools like the Reverie Key and her enchanted dress. She kisses Julian goodbye and returns to the Menagerie, hoping that she hasn’t been gone too long.

Once back in her ornate prison, Scarlett discovers that Anissa knew of her escape. The Fate explains that she pretended to be asleep to avoid raising the alarm, but she warns that Scarlett will not be so lucky next time.

Desperate for a way to defeat Gavriel and protect Scarlett, Tella goes to the Vanished Market. Inside, she is bombarded by a variety of magical offers until she finds a pair of sisters who sell secrets. One appears young and vacant, the other old and sharp, but both warn that all purchases come with unpredictable and irreversible consequences. Tella insists on buying a secret that will be powerful enough to destroy Gavriel—something more than just love. The sisters tell her that they do possess that secret, which is kept inside a red jasper box with a flaming heart. In exchange, they demand a secret belonging to Tella’s own daughter. Tella insists that she doesn’t have a child, but the sisters claim to have seen this child in both the past and the future. Just as the implications of this news sink in, Legend arrives.

Though Tella is happy that Legend has returned, she is reminded that his continued existence means he doesn’t truly love her—given that love is the only thing that could have rendered him mortal and kept him dead. The older sister reminds them of the cost that Tella must pay for the secret she seeks. The secret they want is the fatal weakness of Tella’s future daughter. Legend tries to offer one of his own secrets instead, but the sisters refuse; only Tella’s will do. She agrees to the bargain, and the deal is sealed with a brand shaped like a lock of thorns on her wrist. If she doesn’t find and deliver the secret to them by her daughter’s 17th birthday, she will die. When they leave the market with the box, Legend stays by her side and holds her hand.

Back in Valenda, they approach one of Legend’s safe houses, the Narrow House, where Julian is supposed to be waiting. However, upon reaching it, Tella spots the Maiden Death watching them from the upstairs window. The Assassin then appears and tells them that the Maiden Death is there to see them.

Inside the Narrow House, the Maiden Death and the Assassin speak with Tella, Julian, Legend, and some of the other Caraval performers. The Fates claim they want to help defeat Gavriel, even if it means becoming vulnerable or dying in the process. They also offer two luckless coins, which can be used to summon them if needed. Legend refuses their aid, and Tella throws the coins away after they leave.

The focus then shifts to a new plan. Tella presents the red jasper box that she received from the Vanished Market, hoping that it holds the secret to killing Gavriel. But the note in the box only says, “Gavriel, the Fallen Star, was human once. This happened only briefly, right before he was betrayed by the only human he ever loved, Paradise the Lost” (268). The “secret” offers little help, as Tella’s mother is already dead, and any chance of using love to make Gavriel mortal seems lost. Instead, Tella proposes that they find the magical book, the Ruscica. To access it, Scarlett will need to acquire a vial of Gavriel’s blood. Legend assigns each performer a task, including secretly protecting Scarlett, although he denies Julian the job, fearing for his safety. Julian, now angry, calls out Legend’s emotionally detached leadership. Tella steps in and sides with Legend to keep everyone safe.

Later, when Tella and Legend are alone, he transforms the room into a night sky full of stars. He asks her again to become immortal with him, and once more, she declines. She also knows that she cannot ask Legend for love when it would cost him his life. To protect them both, she lies, claiming that she loves the idea of him more than the real person. Legend then disappears into the darkness, leaving Tella alone beneath a starless sky.

After Legend leaves, Tella channels her energy into writing a letter to Scarlett, telling her that they need a vial of Gavriel’s blood. However, Scarlett must not try to make him love her. Tella reveals that Gavriel once loved their mother and still chose to kill her. Tella reads and rereads the message before finally giving it to Jovan, one of the performers, who will deliver it to her sister. With the note sent, she battles her exhaustion, fearing what her dreams will bring.