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“You’re going?” Cait and I asked at the same time.
“Of course! Can you imagine missing my greatest business opportunity of the year so far? So many vain and deep-pocketed nobles all in one place.” She rubbed her hands together and looked at a gilded clock on the wall. “My carriage should be arriving at any moment. Once I’m dressed and freshened up, let’s travel to this ball as the best-dressed ladies in Cambria—a bit late but very fashionably so.”
“Absolutely,” said Cait, her face glowing with joy.
My face, though also glowing from the application of blush and whatever else Zenitha had applied to it, did not look so joyful. For me, this was not going to be a night of dancing and delights. I was going for one grim purpose and no part of me wanted to participate in it.
It’s for Graham, I told myself.For the good of us all.
But I couldn’t get past the sickening reality that it would be the first time I intentionally shed blood. I closed my eyes and let out a shaky exhale. When I looked up, Zenitha had left the room and Cait studied me closely.
“You look like this might kill you,” she said.
“It might.”
She opened her mouth, then shut it again, brushing a strand of brown hair out of her face.
I thought she might offer to kill Pearce for me. I wondered if I’d say yes. I was sure she’d be able to do it easier than I could. But she stayed quiet, clearly not willing to take that burden on herself, and I couldn’t blame her. She’d sacrificed herself before and she still questioned the decision.
I picked up the clutch I’d be bringing with me tonight. It held a knife, a radio, the key to my gates, the electric light, and a tiny vial of the deadliest poison.
Cait and I sat quietly while we waited for Zenitha, with only the sound of carriages and lively nobles on the way to the ball passing by the windows.
I thought of Graham again, wondering what might happen if I saw him. I couldn’t speak to him or even let him see me, a fact which added another layer of pain. I wanted to explain myself and make him care for me again. I wanted to look into his solemn blue eyes until they didn’t look so solemn anymore. Every good moment with him still shone in my memory, standing out far above all the rest. What I wouldn’t give for even the slightest brush of his skin against mine.
Shouts arose from outside the shop doors, disrupting my fantasy.
I stood, making my way to the windows where I could hear better. I moved the curtain aside just enough to peer through.
An Enforcer rushed past on the street. Then another.
“Where?” The one in front shouted.
“The aqueducts!” called the other.
The nobles moved aside for the Enforcers, watching with fear and confusion.
A third and a fourth Enforcer followed, all running in the same direction.
A carriage stopped in front of the store, blocking my view of the street. It seemed to be the carriage Zenitha had ordered. The driver stepped down, his eye following the chaos typically unseen in this quarter.
He turned to a woman standing close to the window. “What happened?” he asked.
“From what I can gather, there was . . . amurder.” She fanned herself, her face flushed. “They say a man was found dead in the aqueducts. He was stripped of his clothing, but rumor has it he was an Enforcer.”
They both looked down the street for a long moment until the Enforcers were out of view. Eventually, the woman shook her head and hurried off with a deep frown.
The driver stayed, glancing back at the store, and then to his pocket watch.
I let go of the curtain, hiding myself inside the shop.
Cait was right behind me. “Your face looks white as a pearl.” She lowered her voice. “Is it what I think? The Enforcer?”
I nodded, my stomach twisting beneath my corset. “We need to go,” I said in a near whisper.
Before she could reply, Zenitha stepped into the room in a silver dress so sparkly and shimmery that it would surely put half the nobles to shame. She glided across the store toward us.
“You look—” Cait started.
