The afternoon sun hung over the east garden. The sewing circle was working quietly when Austin appeared at the garden gate.

Alina looked up from her fabric and knew immediately that something was wrong. The hum of conversation died as he walked straight towards her, his face tight with controlled anger.

He stopped in front of her, his shadow felling across the cloth in her lap.

"Come with me," he said.

"Austin, I’m in the middle of..."

"Now."

The tone and the word left no room for argument. He took her arm firmly and turned. She rose and walked with him because refusing would only create a bigger scene. Behind them, Marguerite half-rose from her bench. Brennan set down her shears, and Evelyn covered her mouth with her hand.

Every eye followed them as they left the garden.

They walked through the corridors in silence. Servants passing them quickly looked away, sensing the tension between them.

Austin opened the door to his room, let her step inside, and closed it behind them with a loud thud.

"The Blood Ink Pact," he said, wasting no time.

Alina froze, then slowly regained her composure.

"Who told you?"

"Maren. It’s her job to monitor the kingdom’s informal networks."

"Austin..."

"It’s a revolutionary network, Alina. And you’re part of it. You didn’t even bother to tell me."

"I was going to tell you..."

"When?" His voice rose. "When were you going to tell me? The same ’when’ as the letters you sent without telling me? The same ’when’ as the blood ink meeting in a cellar you attended without telling me?" He stepped closer.

"How many ’whens’ do you have, Alina? How many secrets are you hiding while demanding that I share everything with you?"

She had no answer. Because she knew she was wrong.

"I’m sorry," she said, looking down.

"Sorry?"

"I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I should have." Her voice cracking. "I knew what I was doing, and I did it anyway because those women needed someone to be their voice."

"That’s not the issue," he shook his head, hurt flashing across his face. "The issue isn’t the network or the cause. The issue is that you hid it from me while standing in front of me demanding transparency."

He rubbed his hands on his face in frustration.

"You asked me to keep no secrets, and then you have a new one daily?"

Alina stared at the floor, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Do you understand what happens if this goes public?" His tone shifted from betrayal to raw fear. "The king’s inquiry is days away. If they find out about your involvement in this network... it’ll be over for both of us."

"But the women..."

"Those women are at risk too. Every woman in the pact could be exposed. You wanted to protect them, right? But now the same protection has become the danger for them."

Tears slipped down her cheeks as she looked up at him, trying to say something. But couldn’t. Austin saw her tears, and something inside him seemed to crack further instead of soften.

"And if Audrey discovers that you’re running a revolutionary network on top of the royal heritage concealment, the pact will become the primary charge."

Alina lowered her eyes again, wiping her face as more tears followed. The room suddenly felt too small, filled with fear neither of them knew how to carry properly.

Austin ran his hand through his hair in frustration and turned away for a moment as he couldn’t bear looking at her.

God..." he muttered under his breath. "If I hadn’t bought your contract..."

She looked up at him immediately.

"Austin..."

"If I had left you alone, you would’ve been somewhere else by now, his voice was filled with guilt now. "You’d be far away from Ravenmoor and safe."

Pain and hurt flashed across her tear stained face.

"Don’t say that."

"But it’s true," he looked back at her, his eyes full of exhaustion and self-blame. "I brought you into this castle, into this mess, and now every danger keeps circling back to you because of me."

"No," she whispered, stepping towards him. "This isn’t your fault..."

"You need to leave the pact," he said, suddenly.

She stared at him, stunned.

"Leave?"

"You need to distance yourself from the pact immediately. If the investigators find no connection between you and the pact, we might still have a chance."

She stared at him in disbelief.

"You want me to abandon those women?"

"Your survival matters to me more."

"What about those women?" Her voice broke again.

"Those women survived before you joined them. They can survive without you as well."

The words hurt her more than she expected because she knew he was saying them out of fear.

"I thought you’d understand and help me," she whispered.

"I would have helped if you had told me before," his voice rising again. "I would have found a way. But you decided to keep it a secret, and now we are just a few days from an inquiry that could take everything. We cannot add a revolutionary organization to the list of things the king finds when he opens our door."

Alina looked away, still crying.

"Who introduced you to the Pact?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"Alina."

"No. I’m not naming names."

"I need to know who connected you so I can protect the chain..."

"So you can trace everyone and decide who is a risk," she said, looking into his eyes. "I know how you think, Austin. You’re not asking this out of curiosity. You’re asking this so you can control the damage."

He sighed.

"I’m asking because the investigators will ask. And when they do, you’ll need answers that won’t lead them back to anyone in this castle."

"Then my answer is: I found the network independently through my own contacts."

"Don’t lie to me," his voice hardened instantly. "If the investigators find the link themselves..."

"I don’t care about that."

Anger and fear flashed on his face.

"You’re really refusing to tell me?"

"Yes," she replied. "For the same reason you never told anyone about Cecily."

Austin stared at her, breathing hard, his anger and fear twisting together with no place to go.