Cinder woke up in a panic after having the same nightmare she'd had since she was four years old: one where a castle crumbles around her as she screams in a little girl's voice. It wasn't the worst of her nightmares- sometimes they were about her stepmother's shock collar, or about the night Team AZUR assaulted her- but it was strange because the bad dream had been a part of her life for so long.

Cinder hadn't gotten much sleep on this night. Her anxiety about the things people wanted to do to her and her grief over killing Ozpin had made sleep difficult for her. She didn't understand why killing Ozpin was causing her so much pain, to the point where she had to cry about it when she was alone. He wasn't her first kill- that had been her stepmother.

A year after Salem had saved her, Cinder had snuck into her former home while the twins were away. She made sure to dress in a nightgown similar to the one she'd been attacked in- she wanted the imagery to haunt her stepmother as she killed her. Cinder strangled her stepmother with her grimm arm, wanting her stepmother to see and feel the result of what she had done to her and her unborn daughter. After she killed her she reclaimed her mother's leaf brooch and used her semblance, which had come out during training at Salem's castle one day, to burn the empty house down, making it look like an accident.

Getting revenge hadn't made Cinder feel good. She'd felt guilty over the kill despite how terrible her stepmother was and was left never wanting to kill again.

But with Ozpin, Cinder felt more than just guilt over having taken a life. She felt loss, and had no idea why.

Beside her, Jax stirred, his sharp, calculating eyes blinking open. The Asturias twins used masked body-doubles in Vacuo when they were away, which was how he was able to be here at Salem's castle. His gaze softened in the way only she ever saw. "Another bad dream?" he asked, his voice smooth and low.

Cinder nodded, sitting up and running a hand through her hair. "I… I can't stop thinking about it. The Hunt. The things they'll do to me if I'm captured." Her voice wavered, a rare crack in her composed facade.

Jax propped himself up on one elbow, smirking. "You're worrying for nothing, my dear. I've already rigged the votes against the Hunt in Vacuo."

Cinder glanced at him, uncertain. "That doesn't stop the rest of the kingdoms. And Salem… she won't let me fail. But it's all so much—"

He cut her off with a gentle touch to her cheek. "You're stronger than this, Cinder. Once you claim the power of the three remaining Maidens, you'll be practically untouchable. Invincible."

Cinder's stomach churned. She often felt pressured by both Jax and Salem to claim to take the other maiden powers. But she didn't want to take any more lives.

Naked from the waist up, Jax unbuttoned the top of her red nightgown, exposing her matching crimson bra and panties.

"We're on the cusp of greatness," he murmured, pressing kisses to her belly. "You, me, and Gillian—ruling Vacuo and Salem's new world together. Imagine it. A family, Cinder. Daughters who will inherit everything we've built. Vacuo restored to its former glory."

Cinder stared at the ceiling, his words twisting something deep inside. Her heart ached, not for the dream he painted, but for something—or someone—else entirely.

She thought of Ruby. Her bright silver eyes, her unwavering kindness, her relentless belief in doing what was right. Ruby represented everything Cinder had secretly longed for.

"I don't love him, just so you know." That was what she had texted Ruby after their last conversation. And it was true. Jax was nothing more than a distraction, a means to an end. Through intimacy he'd helped her feel like she'd lessened her experience with the teacher who had exploited her and through marriage to him she would become queen. Yet even as he kissed her skin with reverence, she felt hollow. The weight of Salem's expectations and Jax's ambitions bore down on her like an iron chain.

Her mind flickered back to Salem, the closest thing she'd ever had to a mother. The thought of losing her when their plans finally reached fruition brought a pang of sadness. Salem had given her purpose, had saved her when the world had turned its back on her. Even now, Cinder couldn't imagine a world without her.

But Ruby… Ruby was different. She was a flicker of hope in Cinder's otherwise dark existence.

Jax's kisses grew more insistent, but Cinder remained distant, her mind elsewhere. As he whispered sweet promises of power and glory, Cinder closed her eyes and wished, just for a moment, that it was Ruby Rose kissing her; that it was Ruby Rose whom she had a future with in a better world.

Did her marriage to Jax have to last? Cinder wanted Ruby to be more than just some secret mistress. Could she choose Ruby over being queen? Would Ruby still want her?

...

By afternoon, Salem had sent everyone to Mistral except for Hazel, Tyrian, and Arthur. Arthur came to her with a disturbing report:

Ruby Rose had been spotted very much alive in Anima with a group of people. Salem sent Tyrian after the girl.

The report could only mean one thing:

Cinder had lied to her.