Love the new characters! Nice to see some allies of the Salvatore family.
It's been a while, but is there any reason why no one recognized that the Arabella (and possibly the other chosen children) die every time this ritual (?) takes place? I find it surprising that only the most distinguished and intelligent family's children get to become arabella, but no one would've taken notice that such a bright/distinguished person would disappear after the rite takes place. I know that the Empress Dowager supposedly burned all the records, but this tradition supposedly takes place every 8 years, which means it would've at least happened 3 times in the duchess' lifetime, right..?