“For a pretty girl like you, I can show you anything you like.”

Sabine giggled, and I rolled my eyes on her behalf, but a sigh of relief still escaped my chest when the door opened and shut again. “Let’s get out of here.”

Leaving the ladder where it was in case the guard came back, we moved silently through the dark corridors of the theatre and out the crew entrance.

“Sabine will meet us here,” I said, extracting a pair of warmer gloves from the pocket of my cloak. “We need to think of a plan – of some way to protect my mother.”

“Cécile?”

I jumped, colliding with Chris as I spun around. “Fred?”

My brother stepped out of the shadows, his black horse trailing along behind. “What are you doing here at this hour?”

What was he doing here? “I don’t see how it’s any of your business,” I said, my voice sharper than I intended it to be. “You made it clear you wanted nothing more to do with my delusions.”

He grimaced. “I didn’t mean it. I was angry, and… You’re my little sister, Cécile. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to keep you safe.”

Tension I hadn’t even realized I was carrying slipped out of my shoulders, relief filling me. Losing my brother’s goodwill and trust had bothered me, and having him back on my side meant a great deal. A spark of light in the darkness. “I’m glad to hear it.”

“Can I walk you home?” he asked. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

I didn’t want to go home. Sneaking out had been hard enough, and I needed to talk to my friends about what we’d learned tonight. But I also didn’t want to turn down my brother’s tenuous peace offering, so I nodded.

We started to the main street, and Chris made to follow, but Fred rounded on him. “Can’t I talk to my sister alone without you listening to every word we say?”

Chris stopped and held up his hands in defense. “Sorry, I just…”

“It’s fine,” I said, catching my friend’s eye. “Wait for Sabine. Make sure she gets home safe. I’ll meet both of you at dawn for that ride we were talking about.”

Chris retreated back to the crew entrance without argument, but there was no missing the hurt in his eyes. I waited until Fred and I were out of earshot before saying, “If it wasn’t for the fact I knew you two used to be best friends, I’d never guess it for how you treat him.”

“I’ve been in Trianon for almost five years,” he replied in a low voice. “Things change. People change.”

“And that gives you the right to treat him worse than you would a stranger?”

“I don’t trust him.”

I nearly stopped in my tracks. “Whyever not?” There was no one more trustworthy than Christophe Girard. He didn’t have a dishonest bone in his body.

“Because I don’t understand his motives.” Fred pulled the hood of his cloak up. “Why’s he helping you with this mad plan of yours to free those monsters? What’s in it for him?”