Page 69 of Secrets of the Six

"The records," Olli fumbles to find a quick answer. Thankfully, he's a nervous creature by nature and his slight stutter doesn't rouse Ines' suspicion. At least, I hope she's not able to sniff out we are withholding something from her. "Just in case the Soberano sends one of his henchmen to destroy what's left of the Venturan history."

Ines accepts his answer, and I breathe a sigh of relief. One day, I'll share the truth and there will be no secrets left between us, but for now, this is information she doesn't need to know.

Ines pops a hip to the side and roots her elbows to the coffin, planting her chin in her palm. "So, you work here, and you work at the opera?" I can see the wheels in her head spinning, trying to piece together what is true and what is false.

"No, that was a one-time thing," Olli explains. "Otero wanted you to have a friend there in case you needed help." He chuckles and rubs the nape of his neck. "I felt bad about poisoning the real waiter's drink and stealing his uniform, but he was about my size, and I needed to find a way inside without rousing suspicion."

"You killed him?" She's not surprised per se, but her question has an odd quality to it. As if she's sized Olli up and she's deemed him incapable of such a feat. And she would be correct. Out of all of us, Olli is the one with the cleanest hands. Which says a lot.

"Killed?" Olli practically chokes on his own breath. "Saints, no! He spent tonight hugging his toilet but he's not dead." He glances around at the rest of us, eyes wide, but all I can do is watch Ines.

A prickling sensation slides down my spine and although her face remains neutral, the unexpected twitch of her right eye reeks of secrets. Her forged rap sheet made no mention of murder, but then again, I interrupted her cat-and-mouse assassination attempt on Montenegro hours ago. I thought it was a rage-induced need for revenge that fueled what I presumed to be her first kill, but perhaps there are more sinister sins hiding behind her pretty facade. Like this church, beautiful on the outside, but filled with skeletons and dark secrets on the inside.

Cassius' brow raises as he crosses his arms over his broad chest, appearing more like an unmovable mountain than a man. "We don't kill people." He says, tilting his head curiously at her. "Inconvenience people, sure, but never kill."

Ines doesn't say anything in response but finally gives a slight nudge of her head to acknowledge she heard what he said. There's a stifling thickness in the air that forces me to loosen the top button of my shirt.

Carmen clears her throat, tugging her shawl tighter around her petite shoulders. "Well, if there's something of importance for us to discuss, let's be quick about it. This place gives me the creeps."

"Right," I say, stepping up to the table we're surrounding and start the meeting. "Vulpes, what have we heard or seen – "

"Vulpes?" Ines interrupts, eyeing me from across the coffin. It's then I realize I've never fully explained to her who we are.

"We are the Ordo Vulpe." Order of the Foxes. "We keep our eyes and ears on high alert, gleaning scraps of information to aid our rebellion."

"So, you're running a secret club?" I hear the provocation in her voice but won't succumb to the bait.

"Sure." I drawl, putting an end to our short-lived sparring. "What's the word from the Brogratto?"

Cas stands with his feet shoulders-width apart. "Same as always. Poor are getting poorer. The district is growing more dangerous. And more people are going missing without a trace."

"What do you mean without a trace?" Ines asks, eyebrow quirked. "They're probably dead."

He shakes his head. "There are no bodies."

"There are plenty of ways to hide a body." She says in retort which once again silences the room and confirms my suspicions; she's killed before. She clears her throat. "Why do you think they're missing? Maybe they just left the Brogratto?"

Cassius stares at her intently for a beat longer than is comfortable, but Ines doesn't bat an eye, not intimidated by his hulking frame for a second. Finally, he breaks. "For years, people in the Brogratto have been reported missing. A few people here, a few people there. The Black Guard didn't do much about it and once they moved out of the Brogratto and allowed the citizens to fend for themselves across the river, that number only increased. Now, hundreds go missing each year and no one can explain why. They don't make enough money to book passage on a ship out of Orlencia – "

"Nor would they be allowed to since they aren't allowed to cross the bridge into the main districts to board said ships," Carmen lets out bitterly.

"The Brogratto is built between a river and an unscalable mountain," Cas continues, rubbing his fingers through his scruff. "If they tried building their own boats to leave, they'd be noticed and stopped. There are no tunnels underground for them to escape beneath the mountain pass. It's a mystery."

"Is there a pattern for those going missing?" I ask, my brain on fire. "Age, gender, occupation, familial name, housing section?"

Cas shakes his head, defeat in his eyes quickly replaced with determination. "It seems random, but disappearances happen once every two-to-three months. It's as if a shadow man skims through the streets searching for victims. Anyone out too late is captured and never seen or heard from again."

"Olli, see if you can find anything in the records of another way in or out of the Brogratto that we might not know about," I instruct. "An ancient, secret way. Maybe someone discovered it and they're getting others out of the city slowly."

"Or maybe they're being kidnapped for some other kind of work," Ines says softly under her breath, stroking her fingers up and down her chin.

"What?" I turn my attention to her, and she meets my gaze.

"Rogelio insinuated the Soberano reaped his fortune by ill-gotten means. Do you think perhaps he's…" She trails off, shifting through her muddy thoughts.

"Go on," I press. "What do you think he's doing?"

"When I was in prison, I heard the warden speak of a prison mine in the mountains. He threatened to send prisoners there who wouldn't comply."