They reached the end of the hall and passed through a door to another cluster of cells, and there, alone on a plain bench, was Mariel. She looked much improved from before, bathed and groomed, and a plain calico day dress had replaced her bloody Aventum finery. It was two sizes too large, but Mariel had tied it in a way that made it look like a royal gown and herself a princess in it.

“Celeste!” she cried, and rushed forward.

Someone had placed a wooden chair in front of the cell bars, and Celeste sat.

“I will return to collect you once the trial is ready to begin,” the Virtue said, and then he was gone, and Celeste was alone with her sister.

“Oh, Celeste,” Mariel gushed, “I don’t know what you did, but they’ve been treating me like royalty since last you came! They don’t want to, I can tell that much, and they still curse me under their breath, no doubt. But I’ve had a bath, and I’m wearing a clean dress, although I’m sure it’s a hand-me-down. Did I mention they fed me a proper meal? And tea. They even offered me a dime novel, but you know I don’t read. And…” She trailed off. “What’s wrong? Why aren’t you speaking?”

Celeste studied her sister, looking for the woman she had failed to see before. The Mariel in front of her was the one she thought she knew. Kind, beautiful, and admirably innocent despite life’s tragedies. But this Mariel was a lie, a facade her sister wore for Celeste’s benefit. How could she not have seen it? Because when it comes to Mariel, you only see what you want to see, Abraxas whispered, and Celeste clenched her jaw, allowing all her anger at Mariel’s deception to rise to the surface.

“Celeste. What’s wrong?”

“You can stop pretending, Mariel,” she said, voice sharp. “I know the truth.”

Mariel went still. “I don’t know what you heard, but—”

“I know about Daniel!” she shouted. She took a deep breath and made herself lower her voice, although there was no one to hear them. “I know you were seeing him behind my back. I know about his wife and his business partner you tried to blackmail.” Celeste stared her sister down. “And I know you took a butchering knife from the kitchen at the Eden and killed him. The only thing I don’t know is why. And why you didn’t trust me enough to tell me.”

Mariel trembled, a hand over her mouth, and for a moment Celeste thought perhaps she had gotten it wrong. But then her sister lowered her hand and clapped. Once, twice, three times, slowly.

“Well, goddamn, Celeste. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

She frowned. “What does that mean?”