Chapter Ten

Diamante was quite surprised that it took Rubis this long to set her free. Diamante was confident that she was going to die in the hands of the head executioner. But when she saw the first ball of flames, she knew that her plan was a success.

Today has been a crazy day. But it is even crazier was that kiss. Diamante's first kiss was taken from Rubis back at the circus. Sure, she kissed Arthur before killing him, but for some reason, kissing Rubis' feels spectacular.

She cannot tell if Rubis is back to normal. One huge indication is his glowing eyes, but they are dimming, so she really can't be sure. Rubis stops in front of a building and takes out his keys while holding her with one hand.

Diamante will never comprehend his tremendous strength.

When Rubis opens the door, Diamanté looks around his home. The first thing that she notices is the size. The room is small and stuffy, but it feels empty and hollow.

When Rubis walks inside, he lies Diamante on the bed. Her back arches as she feels the stiff mattress touch her body. Her treatment in that prison has truly made an impact on her overall health.

She tries to get herself out of his bed, but she is too weak, so she ultimately gives up. Rubis walks towards her. He is holding a tray with a pewter plate containing pickled cucumbers and salted lamb. Diamante lifts herself as Rubis places the plate on her lap.

"Thanks for the meal, Ruby," Rubis nods and props himself onto the bed. Diamante looks directly at Rubis and notices that his red eyes are no longer glowing. Diamante is actually full of relief; he is finally back to his senses.

The sound of the clanking of the spoon against the plate fills the room as she eats. Rubis continues sitting on the edge of the bed, but he's looking down on his lap. Contemplating everything that happened today.

Now that Rubis is back to his senses, he realizes that her plan worked. Because of HER, all of his hard work and training are going to go to waste. Diamanté brings something out of him that makes him lose control. And he hates it.

Diamante notices the change in the atmosphere. But can you blame Diamante for the events occurring? Rubis will realize that trying to escape from her is like making a deal with the devil. However, she wants to make sure that Rubis is okay; she is responsible for him burning down the prison.

"Your twin has handled the situation well," Rubis lifts his neck and looks at Diamante. Diamante can see the sadness and frustration in his eyes. She places a soothing hand on his knee and gives him a sympathetic look.

"I know. The problem is the number of things that Saphir has done. He takes too much work from others, and it has given him stress," Rubis explains with a strain in his throat. Diamante doesn't know what else to say. Rubis cares a lot for his twin, and all he wants for Saphir to live a healthy life, and she's ruining that.

Diamante puts the tray on the bedside table and motions for Rubis to come. Confused, Rubis crawls up to the bed; Diamante then holds him in her warm embrace. Rubis stiffens before relaxing into her arms. He can feel all of the stress almost melt away.

"I think the only reason he's doing this is that he feels it's the responsibility of the older brother. My cousin Onice has always told me that letting yourself getting help makes stress much easier to manage. And you two are smart, brave, and concerned about our city. I'm not against both of you at all. I'm only against other officers who use their powers for corruption," Rubis holds Diamante tighter and she strokes his dark locks, soothing him in a calm state.

Diamante Stanzolio has the ability to determine's someone's demise by looking directly at her victims' eyes. The eyes being the windows to the soul is an understatement for Diamante. This is because she can use that window to get rid of her victim's soul.

However, it doesn't work with Rubis and Saphir. They are the only people that she can't kill with her eyes. She remembers using her powers on them in the circus. But the trail of death is absent around the twins.

They are truly remarkable.

Both Diamante and Rubis stay in this position for another hour before Rubis' eyes droop and allow sleep to take over his being. This gives her time to think about everything going on around her.

You see, Diamante doesn't have friends. Sure, there are the leaders and the workers. But all the workers fear her. And the leaders see her as a boss rather than a friend. She craves soft affection and conversations. This is a recent discovery during her time in prison.

The conversations she had with Rubis were intimate, exposing, and relieving in a way. However, it makes Diamante feel good not to have this hard shell around her all the time. It doesn't sound so bad to open up to others; maybe she can begin with Rubis.

Without him, she will be a decapitated head on the floor right now.

The door opens, and Diamante sees Saphir standing in front of Rubis' bed. The icy glare that he sends her does nothing to phase her. She doesn't really care because Saphir doesn't scare her one bit.

"I meant what I said, Diamante. You fuck up, and I'll kill you," Diamanté rolls her eyes at Saphir's threat. Even though he is powerful, he is acting like such a child. She raises an interested eyebrow at Saphir as he takes the tray.

"The sooner I get better, the sooner I can get back to Onice," Saphir nods and puts the tray into the basin. Diamante looks outside and notices that it is getting a bit late; it's best if she can rest.

Diamante holds onto Rubis tighter and finally falls asleep.

~~

Diamante wakes up in an empty bed. She lifts herself and sees that Rubis is already in his uniform. He is sitting on a chair, reading a file with a look of distress. When he notices that Diamante's awake, he quickly puts the folder back on the desk. He then gets up and grabs his cap.

"My brother and I need to get to work so you can rest on your own. There is a bowl of porridge on the table. You are not allowed to leave. We will find you. See you later,"

Diamante nods at Rubis's instructions. She is way too weak to run away anyway. Besides, Diamante has much better things to do, and trying to escape isn't one of them. Diamante watches Rubis impatiently as she sees him walk out of place. She carefully listens to his and Saphir's footsteps, wishing that they can leave.

When she finally hears them go, she props herself up on her feet. Her first attempt at getting up feels like painful pins and needles crawling up her legs, so she immediately sits right back down.

She takes a deep breath as the tingly sensations settle down. When Diamante stands up again, she is much more successful. Diamanté takes careful steps toward the dining space. There, she sees the bowl of porridge that Rubis previously mentions.

She sits down on the chair and slowly eats the porridge. Her mind goes back to the plan and how quickly police officers got to the scene. Hindsight is a bitch, and now she can see that Marcus has been planning her demise for a long time.

It makes sense from the first meeting with Marcus to his testimony against her. He set her up to fail by using the trial as the final nail to her coffin.

It seems that he didn't work alone. Because he and Jeffrey are in charge of the recruits (the largest section in the entire organization), the possibility of some of the recruits joining him is quite high.

How can Marcus do this to her? Diamante let him say at the estate, she let him eat the food, and she even let him live before the masquerade. And this is the thanks she gets? He has bitten the hand that fed him.

Fortunately, she has been plotting how to get rid of Marcus once and for all. It has been three days since she had the chance to stare at his eyes. So this tells her that he is more cunning than she expected. But that will not matter.

He will die.

Diamanté suddenly feels herself lose her appetite. She leaves the half-eaten bowl on the table and slowly walks around the home.

She notices a few empty pieces of paper lying around and a quill with ink on a desk. Right now feels like the best time to write to her mother. Diamante misses her mother, and it will make her feel better if she does something to ease her mind.

The last couple of days has truly been a crazy journey, making her feel a bit homesick.

To my dear Mother

From the last time I wrote to thee at the time, a lot has happened.

Onice and I are not even near the end of fulfilling our destiny.

It may seem that I can only be able to visit thou now and then.

But know that thy daughter is doing amazing things.

The Frontenac masquerade had been one of the biggest disasters.

Poisoned had been ingested by more than thirty aristocrats; those include Alexandre Legrand.

But it may have seemed that his elder relative had met his demise in another fashion.

It appears that even the devil himself is following a dangerous path.

However, thee know that your little Diamond is a durable gem.

Our meeting is going to be spectacular.

Your jewel,

Diamanté Stanzolio

She finishes the letter with a content sigh. It feels good to write something to her mother. Even though she cannot deliver it until she returns, it still feels nice. It reminds her of the simpler times.

She leaves the letter on the table and walks back to Rubis' corner. Diamanté lies down on the bed and begins thinking about the twins. It's a miracle that they let her stay inside their residence. It isn't as grand as the Manor, but it is much better than the cell.

How will Onice react when he sees her? For all he knows, she is no longer alive. Does he know about Marcus and his schemes? Obviously, he has been made an enemy to Diamante, so he will need to leave. But does Onice know about the full story?

She highly doubts it. Onice isn't the type to use his powers on people that he trusts. Besides, Marcus is most likely gone and will never return. So it will be hard to find him and his associates.

But one thing is for certain:

Diamante is going to destroy Marcus.