The ballroom was a sea of diamonds and silk. The orchestra played a swelling waltz, but nobody was dancing. Everyone was watching the stage.

King Edward stood at the podium. General Stone stood beside him, the newly pinned Imperial Cross gleaming on his chest.

The applause was deafening.

"And now," the King announced, his voice amplified by the microphone, "we have one more hero to honor."

The spotlight swung around, blindingly bright. It landed on Julian and Imogen.

A hush fell over the crowd.

Julian unlocked the brakes on his wheelchair. He gripped the armrests.

"Julian, don't," Imogen whispered. "Your leg..."

"Help me up," he said through gritted teeth.

Imogen hesitated, then slipped her arm under his. With her support, Julian pushed himself up. His bad leg trembled violently. Pain shot up his spine, white-hot and searing.

But he stood.

He stood tall, leaning heavily on Imogen.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the velvet box.

He shifted his weight, a sharp hiss of pain escaping his lips. Wincing, he slowly, agonizingly, lowered himself onto one knee. The fabric of his uniform strained against the bandages, and a fresh, hot spike of agony shot through his side, but he locked his jaw against it.

The crowd gasped. A collective intake of breath.

"Imogen Sterling," Julian's voice was strong, carrying to the back of the room. "I told you I would do this when we weren't covered in blood."

Imogen covered her mouth with her hands. Tears streamed down her face, ruining her makeup. She didn't care.

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes!" she cried out. "Yes, you idiot, stand up!"

She dropped to her knees to hug him. The crowd erupted. Thunderous applause. The King clapped from the stage, sealing the union with royal approval.

In the shadows near the buffet table, Isolde watched them. She was smiling, clapping.

Then, the room spun.

A wave of nausea hit her so hard she almost dropped her clutch. She grabbed Elliot's arm to steady herself.

"Isolde?" Elliot asked, concern instantly replacing his social smile. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she muttered, swallowing back bile. She instinctively touched her stomach. No. It couldn't be. Not yet. The timing would ruin everything. The thought was a shard of ice in her gut.

She looked up, trying to focus. Her gaze drifted to the stage.

The King was stepping down. As he descended the stairs, a man in a black tuxedo stepped out from behind a heavy velvet curtain.

He was nondescript. Forgettable. But Isolde knew him. Agent Cipher. The head of the King's 'Special Operations' division-the department that handled things that needed to disappear. Not people. Problems.

Cipher caught the King's eye. He gave a single, sharp nod. The King touched his tie-a signal.

Isolde's blood ran cold as she understood. It wasn't an order to kill. It was an activation signal. A green light for an extraction.

She scanned the room frantically. She found her.

Consort Cecilia. The King's wife.

Cecilia was standing near the balcony doors. She wasn't looking at the proposal. She wasn't looking at the King. She was staring at the exit sign with a look of utter, hollow despair.

Isolde remembered the headlines from her past life. Consort Cecilia Dies of Sudden Heart Failure. It was supposed to happen next month.

But the nod. The signal.

They moved the timeline up.

Isolde gripped Elliot's arm tighter, her fingernails digging into his suit fabric. The joy of the engagement evaporated, replaced by the cold, hard reality of the game they were playing.

Julian and Imogen were kissing in the spotlight, bathed in applause.

But in the shadows, the knives were already out for the Queen.

The morning sun cut through the heavy velvet curtains of the Royal Study, casting long, sharp shadows across the century-old oak desk. The air in the room was thick, smelling of lemon polish and the metallic tang of melting wax.

King Edward sat behind the desk. He didn't look like a man who had silently ordered his wife's extraction the night before. He looked exactly like a monarch.

Julian and Imogen stood before him. Julian was leaning heavily on his cane, his knuckles white from the effort of keeping his back straight. Imogen stood close to him, her shoulder brushing his arm in a silent show of support.

The King picked up a heavy, solid gold seal. He pressed it down onto the pool of red wax on the parchment before him.

The sound was a dull, final thud.

With that single motion, the royal marriage license was ratified. The union between Dr. Julian Harris and Lady Imogen Sterling was now protected by the Crown. It was irrevocable.

"The Sterling family's legacy," King Edward said, his voice a low rumble in the quiet room. He picked up the parchment and held it out. "It continues with you, Lady Imogen."

Imogen reached out. Her hands were shaking so badly the thick paper rattled as she took it. This wasn't just a marriage certificate. It was a shield. It meant her family's debts and disgraced name could no longer be used to crush her.

Julian shifted his weight, wincing slightly as a spike of pain shot up his healing leg. He reached out and covered Imogen's trembling hand with his own. He bowed his head deeply.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Julian said.

The King simply nodded, waving a hand toward the door. An attendant immediately stepped forward, guiding the couple toward the side exit. As they walked out into the corridor, the relief of finally securing their future was so overwhelming that Imogen's legs momentarily felt weak. The adrenaline that had kept her spine steel-straight during the audience was rapidly leaving her system, leaving her breathless. Julian's arm was instantly around her waist, his grip tight and reassuring. His solid presence was the only thing holding her steady, a silent promise that the worst was behind them, as they disappeared into the hallway.

The heavy doors clicked shut.

King Edward was alone.

He dropped the gold seal onto the desk. He reached under the thick oak rim and pressed a hidden button.

There was no mechanical grinding. Just a soft, pneumatic hiss. The large bookshelf on the far wall slid open, revealing a dark, narrow passage.

Agent Cipher stepped out.

He didn't walk; he materialized. He wore a shapeless gray suit that made him look like a smudge of graphite against the ornate walls. His face was a blank canvas, devoid of any readable human emotion.

The King opened a drawer and pulled out a leather folder.

"For your work in dismantling the border intelligence leaks," the King said, not looking up. "I am prepared to offer you a land grant in the southern territories. Or perhaps a controlling interest in the port authority. Name your price."

Cipher didn't smile. He didn't step forward. Instead, he dropped to one knee on the Persian rug.

"Your Majesty," Cipher's voice was flat, like two stones grinding together. "A title in the light would kill a man who lives in the dark. Land and coin are meaningless to me."

The King paused. He slowly looked up, his blue eyes narrowing. He wasn't surprised. He had expected this.

"Then what do you want?" the King asked.

Cipher raised his head. His eyes were dead, but his voice was sharp. "Level One clearance. Unrestricted access to the Royal Archives."

Silence stretched across the room. The Royal Archives held the true history of the Crown. The assassinations. The bastards. The blood.

The King tapped his index finger against the desk. Once. Twice. Three times.

"Granted," the King said softly. "But you have a family matter to handle for me first."

The King slid a photograph across the polished wood. It stopped at the edge of the desk.

It was a picture of Consort Cecilia.

Cipher stood up. He picked up the photo, his eyes scanning the image for a fraction of a second before he slipped it into his breast pocket. He understood the assignment perfectly.

"The funeral will be ready in three days," Cipher said.

He turned and walked back into the shadows of the bookshelf. The panel slid shut, leaving the King alone with the ticking of the grandfather clock.

Across the city, inside the sunlit dining room of the Powers Manor, Isolde was staring at a plate of food.

Maid Sarah came practically skipping into the room, waving the morning paper.

"My Lady! Look!" Sarah beamed, slapping the paper onto the table. "The royal decree is front page! Lady Imogen is officially engaged!"

Isolde forced a smile. She looked down at the headline, but the letters were swimming. Her stomach gave a violent, sudden lurch.

The smell of the fried bacon on her plate hit her nose. It smelled like burning rubber and old grease.

Isolde slapped a hand over her mouth. She shoved her chair back so hard it screeched against the hardwood floor. She turned her head away from the table, her chest heaving as she fought down a wave of bile.

Elliot had just walked in from his morning run. He was wearing a sweat-dampened t-shirt, his chest rising and falling.

He saw her pale face. He crossed the room in three massive strides.

"Isolde?" Elliot dropped to his knees beside her chair. His large hands gripped her shoulders. His skin was hot, his grip tight with instant panic. "What is it? Was the wine poisoned last night? I'm calling the doctor."

He reached for his phone.

"No," Isolde gasped, swallowing hard. She pressed her cold fingers against her lips. "No doctor. I'm fine."

"You are green," Elliot argued, his dark eyes scanning her face for any sign of a threat.

"I'm just tired, Elliot," she lied, forcing her breathing to slow down. "The gala was exhausting. And the smell of the grease... it just turned my stomach."

Elliot stared at her. He didn't believe her, but he put the phone away. He stood up and immediately grabbed the plate of bacon, handing it to a terrified Sarah.

"Get this out of here," Elliot ordered. "Tell the kitchen to prepare plain toast and clear broth. Nothing heavy."

Sarah scurried away.

Isolde leaned her head against Elliot's stomach, closing her eyes. Her heart was hammering. She knew what this nausea meant. But she couldn't tell him yet. Not until she was sure.

And not today.

She looked out the large window toward the direction of the Royal Palace. Julian and Imogen were safe. Their timeline was secure.

Now, it was Cecilia's turn to die.