August stopped the cart once he was within the castle walls. "This is as far as I go," he quietly said over his shoulder. Then, glancing around to make sure he would not be overheard: "Good luck."

As we disembarked from the carriage and headed briskly for the palace doors, I chanted the plan over and over in my mind. I traced the outline of the knives under my sleeves absentmindedly as I did so.

"Stop it." A nudged me and I immediately dropped my hands, realizing what I was doing.

"Ready?" M muttered as we paused outside of the grand double doors. Rich Highborns streamed past us, chattering happily, not a care in the world. Their innocence made envy writhe in the pit of my stomach.

No. No, I'm not. But then, I knew that I would never be truly prepared for this. I merely nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

And then we were walking into the castle. Down a hallway that I could traverse with a blindfold. Entering a ballroom in which I must have danced a thousand waltzes.

It was already alive with Highborns. Seeing as they were wearing masks, I could recognize none of them. I couldn't decide whether or not I preferred it that way.

The ornate throne at the end of the room was empty, as per usual. My brother would only appear, surrounded by his personal guard, towards the end of the night to deliver a passionate speech about the superiority of Highborn blood. My father had attended dances like any fortunate Highborn with an invitation - he walked without security, chatted with friends, danced with strangers. The topic of race was not pertinent to this setting, so he would not have approached it.

I missed those days with a longing so fierce it burned my insides.

"There," A hissed, nudging me and pointed to a skinny man in a black mask. Before I could rehearse the plan with her again or receive any semblance of encouragement, one of the male councilmembers had swept her into the crowd. The others quickly followed suit, leaving me very much alone.

My stomach churned. I wonder what'll happen if you throw up, a dark voice in my head mused. Summoning all of my courage and calming my stomach to the best of my abilities, I walked over to the man, tapping his shoulder.

He turned and leaned back slightly to survey me. "Hello," he said slowly.

This man was the king's least important consultant. If he had been any more crucial, he wouldn't have been mingling with the public in such a fashion. We were lucky, in that respect.

"May I have this dance?" I asked nervously as the band struck up a faster waltz.

"Of course." The man placed his hands on my hips with ease. I laced mine around his neck, careful to position them correctly and feeling myself beginning to sweat.

Stay calm.

The man was studying my face, trying to see as much of it as possible.

Feeling awkward, I asked, "Are you enjoying the ball?"

"Oh, immensely." The man smiled, moving ever so slightly closer. "Especially since finding myself in your presence, miss..."

I fought the urge to pull away from the man. He was at least a decade my senior, likely more. Keep up the act.

"Rae," I lied smoothly, smiling up at him.

"Rodrick. One of the king's most trusted advisors," the man introduced himself, preening slightly.

Of course, he couldn't know that I knew the truth of his lackluster status. "Impressive," I complimented him, drawing out the word and struggling with a grin at the ridiculousness of the situation.

For the next couple of dances, Rodrick recounted entirely falsified tales of his service at Andrew's side. I simply nodded politely, making small sounds of admiration and asking questions where they were needed.

Finally, we lapsed into silence. Rodrik's eyes drifted downwards. I tried to ignore the revulsion rising within myself.

"Take off your mask," he ordered quietly, his voice husky. He raised a thumb and ran it over my bottom lip. "I've only had the pleasure of seeing these beautiful lips."

I took a deep breath to keep my voice from trembling with fear and discomfort. "I propose a deal," I retorted as flirtatiously as I could.

Rodrick's lips curled into a smile. "I'm listening."

I pressed my forearm against his shoulder blade and my knife sprang into position, concealed within the cup of my hands. As his eyes widened in horror, I replied pleasantly, "Good."

*

Rodrick was a weak-willed man. He followed my orders without complaint, and we waltzed unheeded towards the double doors that led deeper into the castle. Once out of the ballroom, I hurried him into a maid's closet and shut the door, enveloping us in darkness.

Reaching up and focusing my energy, I ran my hand over the ceiling. It was difficult, what with Rodrik's panicked breathing, but soon, light began to glow on the surfaces my hand had touched as if I was smearing on a luminous substance.

Sure enough, the council awaited us.

A nodded at me as if to say, good work. I knew she was leery to speak, in case Rodrik somehow escaped our clutches and took this to Andrew. I would be the only Phoenix Person speaking tonight.

"Please," Rodrik whimpered as I retracted my blade. "Don't hurt me."

"Where is the king?" I asked coldly, ignoring his pathetic murmurs.

"I - I can't tell you..."

My knives made a clicking sound as I pressed their holsters against my hipbones and released them once again. "Where is the king?"

Rodrik visibly swallowed. "In his chambers," he whispered, his voice growing stronger, "along with half of the royal guard."

"What?" That made no sense. Andrew was paranoid, but not to that extent. "Why would he need that many guards?"

Without warning, Rodrik's face transformed into that of a snarling predator. "He knows you're here, Princess Alexia."

The council snapped into action faster than I could even process the damning words. A grabbed my wrist and bent back my hand so she could cleanly and quickly use the knife to slit Rodrik's throat. As the blood began to spurt onto my skirt and the unlucky advisor made disgusting gurgling noises, one of the councilmen grabbed my arm. "We need your magic," he insisted urgently.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from the dying Rodrik. His eyes burned with pure hatred, quickly fading along with his life.

"Princess!"

"You killed him," I murmured disbelievingly. As if for emphasis, Rodrik finally bled out and he toppled over, his eyes blank.

"Focus!" the councilmember nearly shouted. "Get us out of here unseen now."

I became acutely aware of the blood coating my dagger, the blood spotting my skirt. The advisor's blood.

"I can't," I muttered. "I'm not that powerful."

The councilman swore.

"But you all have to get out of here," I said, finally raising my gaze to meet his. A plan began bubbling in the back of my mind. "Listen to me carefully. I'm going to turn myself into Audric. That should give you time to escape. I'll cover for you."

A shook her head. "No. You're too valuable."

I smiled dryly. "Thank you, but you seven are more so. Please. My brother won't hurt me."

"How do you know?" M demanded, voice higher than usual.

"I just know." I was his sister, after all. His blood. He wouldn't dare hurt me.

He couldn't.

"A." One of the male councilmembers stepped forward. "This is our only option. We need to leave now."

Before they could stop me, I opened the door and left the closet. Closing it behind me, I took off running down the hall, bunching my skirt in my hands to keep from tripping over its excessive length. As an afterthought, I tore off my mask, tossing it to the ground. I needed to be seen.

I didn't make it to the throne room. A handful of guards intercepted me before I could get too close.

I willingly let them lead me to Audric.