Caroline quietly wiped the tears from her cheek, turning her head to hide the act from Trent.

But of course, he noticed.

"What is wrong?" he asked across from her.

She shook her head. She looked out the window. The gloomy winter night did not help their her mood. The journey was fine. Her father had sent six men on horses to travel with them to Remington, to make certain that his eldest daughter would be delivered home alive.

"Are you dreading the day that we marry?" he asked in jest.

She scoffed. "I cannot wait to shackle you, Trent. Do not be absurd." She sniffed, the sound a little nasty to hear, but she was with Trent. They had seen each other in their worst and filthiest.

"Then you're dreading the thought of living with Camila again?"

"I miss dreading her presence, so no," she retorted.

He fell silent for a while. The carriage wheels continued to dig into the hard, frozen dirt outside. Now and then, a wolf would howl. The horsemen behind them were quiet, too, the sound of the horses' hooves the only sign that they were there.

"I think I left too early," she said. "I did not even have the chance to say goodbye to my maids properly. Fatima was heartbroken. She has to return to Belcourt again and God knows when she will have another chance to serve another Belle."

"This is the best chance for you to leave. While everyone isn't suspecting you."

"Of course, they will not suspect me. I gave them their traitor," she bitterly replied. More tears rolled out of her eyes. "While I want to save Ruby, Trent, I do not think it was right to name Sasha. She was the last person I saw with Albert, yes. But she could have left early. Someone else could have done it."

Trent sighed. "Carol..."

"No, not now, Trent," she said, then sniffed. She handed out her hand, and he pulled out a handkerchief from his coat and handed it to her. She wiped her face and blew her nose. Folding the cloth, she added, "I don't know how the Belles will see this. Sasha does not have the best reputation amongst the Belles. Not because she is not good enough, but because she is very good and along with that comes envy. She rose to the top too soon. Now, she fell just as fast because of me." She looked up and met his gaze. "I honestly would not be feeling so horrible now if I named Jade. It may be evil of me, but that wench deserves this more than Ruby and Sasha."

Trent crossed the distance between them and settled beside her. He took her hand and squeezed hard. "This is Darcy's orders, Carol."

"I'm starting to think Darcy is being a little stupid."

"I would not say so."

"Why?"

"What Darcy has been doing since Blackwood's disappearance is nothing short of sacrificial."

"Sacrificing Sasha, you mean."

He sighed. "I hope I can tell you more." When she scoffed, he planted a lingering kiss on her cheek. "The Royal Circus appreciates the blind trust you give them."

"I have no choice, do I? My father and my bloody fiancé are in the Circus."

He chuckled. Then he let his laughter die. "Let us pray that all will be well."

"Not soon. Your bloody Belle is still free. The moment you leave her, she will go insane, I tell you."

"I can handle her."

"She will come for me, I know it. I know that she will eventually find out we have been playing her. She is too wise."

"I will be there to protect you."

"No, I will be there to kill her first. I won't need you."

☙✾❧

Sasha stared at the filthy stone walls of her cell.

She could feel Ruby's eyes on her from across the corridor.

"Why would you do it, Sasha?" Ruby asked. "This would not have happened to us if you just stayed faithful to Belcourt."

She did not want to answer that. But when she turned and saw the confusion in Ruby's face, she was reminded of the other ladies who were blindly following an institution that was giving them a false sense of security and safety.

"I am faithful to Belcourt, Ruby."

"But you chose to work with the Circus. You chose to betray us. And you used me."

"Are all being used. From the moment we entered Belcourt, we were groomed to be used."

"They took us in because no one ever would."

"And they are keeping us in because now we think no one would want us. Do they give us the chance to see that for ourselves?" Ruby's lips tightened. Sasha moistened hers. She was parched. And she was hungry. "The Circus is fighting to correct the wrong done in history."

"What? Bring back a tyrant?"

She smiled. "That is what they say he was, is it?"

"Do not be foolish. Whatever story they fed you, it is false. Reginald was a tyrant."

"Belcourt manipulated everyone. It brought into power the king that will serve them."

"And the kingdom is better than it was before."

"And you heard this from whom? Were you there when Reginald was king?"

"Belcourt does not lie."

"Of course, Belcourt does not lie. Why would it need to lie to its servants? They only need us to do what they want."

"You act as the intelligent woman you are from the Library. Like me, you know very little of the life when Reginald was king. The people were his prisoners."

"And Belcourt?" she countered. "Belcourt is the same prison as it was since it was built." She watched the disbelief crumple Ruby's face. "Reginald sent Belcourt a letter, ordering it to free the women who wish to leave." Ruby stiffened. "I saw the letters, Ruby. Do you think I would have been stupid to just agree to the Circus? I did my research. I scoured the Library. I looked for facts in and out of Belcourt."

"You're lying."

"Belcourt did not want to free their women. Why would they? They spent money on them. They clothed them, fed them, educated them. They had to collect payment in one form or another. We are naught but their cattle, being cared for and fed to be butchered." She turned away from the woman. "And then they made the people go against their king. Should you have the time, I suggest you go to the library in Coulway. Read old copies of the Sutherland Post. Of the Grimes. Look into the public records of the House of Lords and House of Commons. The evidence of Reginald's efforts to free the women of Belcourt had been meticulously hidden, but they are there if you know what you are looking for. Do not trust history written and said to you, Ruby. Those are from the words of humans who have the same interests. Trust the trace of facts and evidence."

"You are poisoned. All because of a man, Sasha? All because of Blackwood?"

"A man," Sasha said, letting out a low chuckle. She looked Ruby in the eyes. "Ruby, Belcourt's former High Priestess was a man."

"You are lying," the woman hissed.

"It was the crown prince, in fact."

"No."

Sasha sighed. "Of course, you will not believe me. Perhaps you can ask Delaney. I assume she knows, considering she used to visit the High Priestess' room to service him."

"If that is true, then how did it happen? How did he become High Priestess?"

"I will never know now, will I? He is dead and there is a new High Priestess. This time it is a woman—a child." She looked around her dark, filthy cell. "Soon, you will leave this dungeon, Ruby. They may question you about Robert, but I suggest that you do not tell them anything. The Circus knows that you might point him to be a Royal and they are not afraid to expose him. He has already rendered his letter to leave Belcourt as its gentleman. He will be free. But you will be punished for the information you gave the Circus."

"You are saying I am to continue serving the Circus."

"No, of course not. The Circus is not solely focused on Belcourt. It cannot do much. I tried, but then I did not last long. Something has to start from within." She smiled at Ruby. "I hope that one woman will be brave enough to spark a question within Belcourt. And curiosity beats far more than what you think. Nothing can beat Belcourt but itself."

Ruby turned away from her and never spoke again.

☙✾❧

Later that evening, a Soldier took Ruby away.

"You are expected to face the High Court," the Soldier said.

Sasha looked at Ruby. The woman ignored her, lifting her head high, and followed the Soldier out.

A bitter smile crossed her lips. She would have loved to have said more to her friend. Or was Ruby still a friend? Perhaps no longer.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall.

A sound of something clanking on the stone floor made her open her eyes.

Gabrielle was standing outside her cell. On the floor was a plate of porridge and a bottle of water.

"Your dinner," the woman stonily said.

"Thank you," Sasha said, inching toward the plate. "You did not have to serve me my food, Garbielle."

The woman did not answer.

"Are you here to express your disappointment as well?"

Gabrielle just looked down on her.

"If you wish me tell you I am innocent, then I hate to disappoint you." She pulled the plate through the gap of the iron bars, tilting it slightly to the side so it fit. Then she grabbed the water and took a few careful sips. She would have to save some for later. "Or are you here to inquire about your brother?"

Gabrielle's jaw tightened.

"He is doing well. He always inquires after you, always fretful."

Gabrielle started to turn, intending to leave.

"Can you answer one question for me, Gabrielle? After all, I answered yours."

The woman paused.

"Is West Blackwood dead?"

"He will not be able to save you. That is all you have to know."

Sasha waited until she was alone. And then she returned to her corner, into the darkness, so she could allow the tears.

Finally, they came.

And her father's voice grew stronger. "Be a good girl..."

She shook with tears like never before. After many years, she still feared death, after all. Since that night her father made her choose between her life and his.

She cried because it might be the last she would have. After this, once she was on the island, she would have to shut everything out again. Because there, she would have to survive until they came for her.

Or until she could.

☙✾❧

The Royals were all sharing a bottle of brandy, all of them talking in whispers.

"You all smell terrible," said Oliver St. Vincent, his face dark with lust for the dark liquid inside their glasses. "I should leave this bloody room."

He walked back into the Coffin where his wife was with the other women. Aliya was standing beside one gurney at the other side of the room. Across from her was Lady Winthrop. Between them, on the gurney, was the corpse of a dead young gentleman, the white cloth covering him from waist down.

"What a very unlucky young man," Lady Winthrop was saying as Oliver sauntered toward his wife. "Made poor choices."

"Ollie," Aliya said, smiling at him. "Why are you here?"

"They are drinking," he grumbled, frowning at the corpse. "What are you two up to now?"

"He died falling off his horse," said Lady Winthrop. "Poor young man."

"And how did you know he fell off the horse?"

Aliya laughed. "He did not. We do not truly know."

He frowned at his wife in confusion. "I do not understand, darling."

"We have a new hobby. We give them stories, see?" said Lady Winthrop. She pointed at the third corpse, fully covered from head to foot. "That one was the husband of the woman this young man was having an affair with. Now, that first one behind you is the footman who was trying to escape with this young man. Both of them fell off their horses. The husband, I am afraid, was poisoned to death by his wife when he got home and she found out her lover died while trying to escape her husband's wrath."

"And the other one?" he asked.

"Which one, my boy?" Lady Winthrop asked.

"The one beside the husband.

"Ah, that's the local baker three blocks from here. I know him personally. Died just yesterday, was it?"

Aliya nodded. "Terrible heart condition, they said. Died kneading a dough."

"Ah, yes, yes. Poor old man. Used to love his bread until they turned nasty."

The door to the Coffin opened and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge walked in.

"Oh, and what have we here?" Lady Cambridge asked in interest, clasping her hands together. "Another good story tonight, Clara?"

"A scandalous one, dear," said Lady Winthrop. "A very scandalous affair, I should say."

The Duke of Cambridge ignored the ladies and went straight up to the Theater. Not long after, his son, Robert Dior, entered the room.

Oliver turned to Aliya and gave her a kiss. "I will return soon, my dear," he told her, caressing her growing stomach.

Back inside the Theater, Oliver took the empty seat at the back with a grunt.

Rider Fairborne was sitting in front, his back turned to Oliver. Whatever the man was feeling now, he could never fathom. To be betrayed by a fellow Royal was different from being betrayed by a friend.

Robert Dior stood at the center of the room, behind Blackwood's desk.

"Opera is officially open," the man said, his expressionless face... well, blank as the corpses in the Coffin.

The moment Dior finished his words, a Royal held up one hand. "What is being done to Macmier?"

"He is still in Keene and being questioned as Sasha ordered," said Rider, barely turning his head over his shoulder.

"But we have a new Royal Master—"

"And I agree with Sasha's orders," Dior said. "This Opera is not about Macmier. He's being dealt with according to our rules. At the moment, I want us to focus on other things." The Royals fell silent, waiting for his next words.

"What Sasha did was risky," said one gentleman.

"Well, of course, it was," said another. "She deliberately exposed herself by going to Macmier. And now we don't know where she is. Or if she's even alive."

"She knows Belcourt better than anyone of us. She should be in the dungeons as she said."

"But we don't know when she'll be in Sinhold."

Dior wryly sighed. "This is why I'm Royal Master, gentlemen. I know her plans. And I have eyes inside Belcourt."

"Have we even achieved anything from this sacrifice?" asked Oliver. "It has been a week since Remington's daughter was brought home. Sasha may have paved the way for her to exit Belcourt safely, but I do not see why the sacrifice was necessary."

"To answer your question, St. Vincent," Dior said, looking him straight in the eye. "We have achieved nothing but Sasha's freedom. That is, if we can rescue her in time."

"She should not have become Mistress in the first place," grumbled Oliver.

"If she did not, we'd still be stuck knowing nothing," Dior countered. "Sasha knew she would eventually be found out. From the moment she realized we have a rat, she knew it was only a matter of time. That's why you have me now. And that's why we are here tonight to vote. I suggest we make this quick, as we have plans to do. Sasha is to be sent to Sinhold soon."

Everyone shifted in their seats.

"Who votes yes?"

All men raised their heads, save for Oliver.

"Who votes no?" Dior asked.

Oliver lifted his hand. "I object to it."

Dior just stared at him. "Everyone present now has voted. Everyone not in this Theater has sent their votes?" he asked Rider.

Rider nodded. "All seven voted yes."

Oliver groaned.

"Upon Sasha's last orders, the Royals have spoken." Dior picked up a stamp and sealed the document before him. "By the power given me by the Royal Circus as Royal Master, I announce the next Darcy be Ellise St. Vincent. Opera is over."