Map of Fates by Maggie Hall Read Free Book Online Page A

element was fascinating. He was laser focused, intense, stern. It was the Jack I knew, magnified. And it didn’t help that I hadn’t been able to so much as talk to him since that moment in the hall last night.
    I smoothed my sari. I couldn’t get distracted now, especially not by a guy I wasn’t supposed to be thinking about that way, especially not just before meeting somebody who thought they might marry me. I put up walls in my brain. “Anything else I need to know?” I said.
    The girls were dressing Lydia in a ruby-red sari, and when they finished, they adorned us both with heavy necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. “Even if you’re nervous, try to have a good time,” Lydia said. “Dev is actually . . . It could be a fun night.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œLast year he attended a UN summit on agriculture dressed as a banana. As in, wearing a full-body banana suit.”
    I laughed. “He did not.”
    â€œTime to go,” came a voice at the door, and I got final prods and pins and then one of the girls set a sparkling golden chain on my head. Finally, they let me see myself in the mirror.
    The silk of the sari shimmered, dark purple set off against my pale skin, and gold and jewels shone on my hands, at my throat, in my hair. The eyes
were
dramatic, but with the outfit, they worked. Lydia came up beside me, just as elegant and glittering.
    I watched our reflections and was surprised when she took my hand. Hers was small and cool, and our bangle bracelets clinked together prettily. Her mouth curved up at the corners, like we were in on a secret together. “You look like a princess,” she said.
    â€¢Â â€¢Â â€¢
    I’d expected my first meeting with another family of the Circle to be like meeting the Dauphins, complete with either thinly veiled scorn or obsequious praise, but the Rajesh family wasn’t like that at all. Lydia and I joined them, plus my father and Cole and Jack, in a room filled with dancing candlelight and brightly colored wall hangings and a human-sized statue of Ganesh, the elephant god.
    Dev’s mother, Indra Rajesh, had a soft smile. She clasped my hand warmly in hers and asked me about my life and my family, assuring me how easily I’d fit into theirs. His father, Arjun, had a thick mustache and a thicker midsection, and must have had a dozen cups of coffee before dinner because he talked a mile a minute, about everything from the art in their home to the weather, all in a posh British accent.
    Dev himself had dark purple eyes that crinkled when he smiled in a way that made me want to smile back. He’d poured me a steaming,fragrant cup of tea when we’d first entered the sitting room, and now he sat next to me as we listened to his father.
    â€œAnd of course, we’ve implemented new security measures since the attacks began,” Mr. Rajesh went on. “Horrible. I spoke with George Frederick yesterday. They are, understandably, having a hard time recovering from Liam’s death . . .” They were talking about Liam Blackstone, who was a famous actor and member of the American Circle family, and Colette LeGrand’s late boyfriend. I’d hung out with both of them just before he was killed.
    The conversation faded as my father and Mr. Rajesh moved toward the dining room. I stood to follow, and Dev offered me his arm. I took it.
    â€œWell then,” Dev said, his voice low and smooth, “we’ve made the conversational jump from awkward to depressing, so I’d say the evening is on track so far, wouldn’t you?”
    â€œOh.” I tried to rearrange my face into a smile. “No. Everything’s great. I—”
    Dev chuckled. I looked up, and his eyes were sparkling. He really was attractive—was anyone in the Circle
not
?—with longish, wavy dark hair, a smattering of stubble across his cheeks, and an easy smile.
    â€œIt’s