Caraval

When Scarlett awakens from death, she immediately feels skeptical of Julian and withdraws from him, despite that he sacrificed the day of his life to help her in the game. She feels torn between her feelings for him and what she believes she just learned about him. She feels sick and slips away from him. When she passes the mirror, she freezes. There’s a grey streak in her hair, and suddenly, the game feels so much more real.

She steps out into the hallway, but the smell of “anise and lavender and something akin to rotted plums” fills the air, the exact scent of her father’s perfume (225). Governor Dragna steps around the corner, and Scarlett seeks shelter in her room. She hopes she’s hallucinating, but then, she becomes paranoid that Legend had somehow been listening when she shared her fear of him.

She doesn’t understand why Legend wants to torment her, but suddenly, her dream rushes back to her. Annalise, her grandmother, must’ve been the woman who broke Legend’s heart. Julian wakes up and notices that Scarlett doesn’t look well. He tries to touch her face affectionately, but she withdraws. She imagines how he must be feeling when she pushes him away.