Caroline winced as the carriage lifted in the air and landed back on frozen ground with a grunt. She held tightly on her seat, scowling at her friend sitting calmly from across her.

Ellise held out her hand, palm up.

Caroline gritted her teeth as they met another bump. Ellise was not smiling, but her eyes were. She was pleased, of course, as Caroline threw her the small purse. Inside, the coins clanged and jingled.

"What made you think she would come for you?" Ellise said, not really addressing Caroline, shaking her head. "It was clear she would come to him."

Jaw tight, Caroline could only scowl. "Very well, you won the wager. She went to him."

She bent her head to steal a look out the window. They were speeding down a familiar road.

They were in pursuit of Jade's carriage, which was a mere small shadow ahead.

Ellise shared the window with her. "You are correct. She is taking him to Albert's villa."

"Can I have half of my money back then?" she asked.

"No, the wager was never about where she would take her captive. It's about who the captive would be." Leaning away, Ellise picked up her pistol and Caroline eyed it warily. She looked at the other pistol sitting beside her, one Ellise gave her earlier.

"Mayhap we should sneak in first. Surely she has other plans for him."

Ellise looked out the window. When she thought her friend was ignoring her, Ellise spoke, "Indeed, she has other plans for him."

With a frown, Caroline stared out the window. Jade's carriage was not slowing down. In fact, it drove past Albert's villa. "Where is she taking him?"

The answer came soon enough. Their carriage slowed down as Jade's did.

Outside a chapel.

"The bloody wench!" cried Caroline with disbelief.

Ellise only sighed. "I made a mistake."

"What?" Caroline asked, starting to panic.

"I miscalculated the time. He may be late."

"Who?"

But Ellise did not reply. Instead, her friend said, "I did not expect her to bring Esther's men."

"It could be Emory's."

Ellise's lips curled into the tiniest smile. "Are you certain?"

Caroline did not reply for Ellise may be correct. She looked down at her dress, then compared it to her friend's shirt tucked in buckskin breeches. She was wearing her sturdiest silk slippers, but they paled in comparison to her friend's leather booths. She sighed. "I am glad I asked your help," was all she could say.

☙✾❧

"We shall marry," Jade said to Trent, her eyes glinting with adoration as she stared at him.

She is crazy, Trent thought. Jade was holding a pistol while she smiled. One royal guard stood at the closed door.

"But we shall have to wait for the vicar. One of my men is out to rouse him from his sleep."

Trent's gaze roamed around the small chapel. Arched doorways at either side lined the walls. He could run to any direction and get away, but he was uncertain how many men Jade brought with her.

"Jade, why are you with the royal guards?"

Jade smiled. "A gracious friend offered help."

Trent's jaw tightened. "Did this friend also order you to kill Caroline?"

The smile vanished from the woman's face. Her red hair reflected in her eyes, but she blinked the anger away and pulled at her lips again. The sight made the hairs at the back of Trent's neck stand. "She told you, did she not? Of course, she did. She wants to manipulate you into thinking I am mad. No. I wanted Caroline gone for many reasons."

"Caroline and I—"

"It is not all about you, Trent, for God's sake!" she shrilled. The pistol in her hand shook while her face remained cold with that fixed smile. "I was the one helping Esther. She did not have to ask for Caroline's help!"

Trent took a step back when she took one forward. He had to be careful. If he wanted to survive tonight, he had to keep her calm. "Esther?" he asked.

"The princess, who else!"

"I did not realize you work closely with the princess. With Belcourt's blessings?"

She scoffed. "Belcourt will have my head if they learn about it. No, she sought me out—me, out of all the other Belles." Caroline chuckled, low, guttural. "It is actually easier than you may believe, Trent," she said. "Before Albert could suspect that his sister is on to him, I reported about Caroline's meeting with Esther. Surely you know about the meeting. You went to Birth with her. It was a perfect reason to get to Caroline. The princess is a fool sometimes. She makes rash decisions. I told her I can watch Albert on my own. I told her she did not have to employ her cousin's help. But she still did. She said I was not highborn enough to be invited into Albert's parties where he may be doing his tricks. She went behind my back, that stupid fool. She should have known that Belcourt is always watching. I had to save her many times. Caroline was a good sacrifice."

"So you took Caroline."

"Not before telling Lady Mariam about Esther's meeting with the fiancée of my flower. I told her I had to pursue the matter. She approved. Another fool, of course. She ended up in Sinhold, if you remember." Jade sighed, lifted her free hand to absently tidy her hair. "Where is the vicar?" she asked the guard at the door.

"He will come soon," answered the man without moving from his spot.

"I do not understand anything," said Trent, feigning ignorance. "What do you mean you had to report to Belcourt?"

"Oh, hush, Trent. Do not pretend that you do not know. Your fiancée's father is close to the king. And I am certain that many of the peers whisper about Belcourt here and there. But I am certain that not all of you know that Belles take on much more dangerous missions. We do not simply moan away your secrets in bed, darling."

When Trent did not say a word, she continued, "So there, you see? I was pretending to do my mission for Belcourt. I cannot let Caroline tell Belcourt about what Esther knows about Albert then. Because, as you must know, Belcourt is friends with Albert and once he finds out what Esther is up to, then Esther will end. And I shall end." She paused, and then shouted, "Where is the vicar! I want the vicar here now!"

Trent blinked, forcing himself not to look away from Jade.

"Jade, I do not know how to feel about this, but I believe you have a good reason for doing what you did to Caroline."

"You would not get rid of her. I had to get rid of her for you and for Esther! I was the only one doing all the work, you see. Me! No one else! That's why you will have to marry me tonight. You will never escape Caroline's clutches if I leave it all to you. You are not brave enough to choose me. But I am making the choice for you tonight, Trent, my darling. Because you deserve to be free. And you deserve me."

☙✾❧

Caroline's hands closed into fists beside Ellise. They were at the back of the chapel, Jade's words carried by the wind, crisp as the winter stars above them.

"It was easy then to just make a reason why Caroline disappeared. I told them that she was attacked by someone from the Circus. Those men are enemies, so of course Belcourt believed me."

Beside her, Ellise was calm, holding her pistol in one hand.

She felt her friend's sideway glance. She looked down at the pistol in her hand. She had fired countless times before. She knew how because it was what Ellise enjoyed doing. And perhaps she enjoyed it, too. But never had she ever thought that she would one day stand at the back of a chapel, ready to shoot something other than a bird.

Caroline moistened her lips.

"...and also because I just want to have you for myself! I never had anything for myself! Is that too much to ask?" Jade was screaming now.

"And what about Ruby? Caroline swears Ruby was with you when you took her."

"Ruby is no different from me. She fools Belcourt all the time, always doing something behind our backs, meeting someone else's flower—your fiancée's flower, in fact. The other Belles do it, too. All of them are foul. Sasha, as it turned out, was the worst of the lot. Now, you see why Belcourt is rotten? I do not care how many women are working for the Circus. I choose to work with someone else. You can join me, Trent. Esther will protect us. She has promised me she will. We can live in a palace if you want until you get your father's title and become duke yourself. If you wish for the title now, I can arrange for his death on the morrow."

Ellise' softly scoffed beside Caroline, shaking her head with incredulity.

Caroline closed her eyes tightly. She tried hard to remember dying in that forest. The memories came back to her, the pain in her midriff returned. The fury was there, but her hand was shaking. Could she truly kill a Belle? A woman? A human?

"We have little time," whispered Ellise beside her. "The other guard may return soon."

Caroline swallowed. They could hear a carriage approach from down the road.

"Caroline, if you cannot do it, I will do the honor," said Ellise, voice etched with urgency. "You do not have to move." When Caroline did not even flinch, Ellise said, "Should I remind you that you agreed to this?"

"No, of course, not."

"Then you are fine with me doing it?"

She was a coward, after all, she thought.

Ellise did not wait for her answer because the carriage had stopped outside the chapel and Jade was distracted, shouting for the guard to open the door for the vicar. Ellise swiftly moved and soon disappeared to the side of the chapel.

At the last second, Caroline cursed under her breath, collected herself, and pushed away from the wall. She found Ellise, back pressed to the wall, head to the side of the arched doorway. She threw Caroline a look before she ducked and ran to the nearest pew. Caroline stayed behind, watching for Ellise, praying she was still a fairly good shot.

Jade was pushing Trent to the door of the chapel as she shouted, "Where is the vicar! What is the matter! Open the door!"

The guard obliged, and Caroline watched Ellise patiently wait. It was the best time to move, she thought. The guard and Jade had their backs turned to them. But still, Ellise was not moving. Caroline had to stop herself from storming through the arched doorway and point her pistol at Jade's head.

"Where is the vicar?" Jade demanded from the royal guard standing outside the chapel doors, her pistol was pressed at Trent's side.

Caroline's hands grasped the pistol firmly, ready to shoot, because Ellise finally moved. The woman, stealth as her prized stallions, moved closer to the group. Caroline's heart thudded hard against her chest. She ran to the next arched doorway. Then the next. Until she was parallel to Ellise. Her friend looked over her shoulder once to check on her. She must have been pleased that Caroline still had her legs.

☙✾❧

Trent was as curious as Jade. The royal guard returned alone without a vicar. However, Jade was also hysterical, and she shouted at the guard.

"I told you to bring him here! Where have you been?" Her eyes darted to the carriage. Trent followed her gaze. The carriage was not empty. Someone was waiting inside in the shadows, and it was not the bloody vicar.

"What is going on?" Jade demanded when the carriage drove away with its passenger.

Then, things happened rather fast.

The royal guard, stone-faced against Jade's hysterics, said, "The princess wishes to inform you that your services are no longer needed."

Color drained from Jade's face. She looked arrested for a moment before she started to tremble with contained angry laughter. "You fool, Esther would not—"

The rest of her words rang with the sounds of gunfire.

And then Jade slumped to the floor.

Jade was first to hit the ground, Trent second.

The pain came as he realized that the guard shot Jade, and the pistol in her hand fired as she was fired.

Then came two more shots. The two guards joined Jade and Trent on the floor, their eyes wide open. One had smoke rising from the single hole in his forehead; the other with blood soaking the chest of his royal uniform. He whirled around and found Ellise striding toward him, dragging him by his collar. And his eyes widened with horror when Caroline came rushing toward him.

"We have to go," said Ellise, stealing the doorway a glance.

Caroline cupped Trent's face, her eyes glimmering with unshed with tears or relief. "You are shot."

"You fool, why are you here?" he asked, groaning.

"We had a wager, remember?" Caroline asked, helping him to his feet.

He pulled his hand away from his wound at the side of his torso. The bullet grazed him. "Bloody hell, you must want to marry me so bad. I'm not dying tonight."

"We have to go," Ellise repeated. She walked over to where Jade lay motionless, swimming in her own pool of blood. "My brother is waiting in the villa."

"Why did you kill the bloody guards?" asked Trent.

"And have them kill you?" retorted Ellise. "Now, can we leave?"

Trent threw Jade's lifeless body a glance before he let Caroline and Ellise lead him away out of the chapel.

"Who won?" he asked through his teeth.

"I did," Ellise said.

He threw Caroline a look. "You truly thought she would come for you again?"

☙✾❧

The carriage returned soon after Darcy left.

Tanner Macmier bounded up through the chapel doors with a curse. He ignored the two guards and hurried toward Jade. Without wasting more time, he carried her in his arms and into the carriage. Dead or alive, he needed her.