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“You… you could have… died,” I stammered, noticing her casual lack of care that she almost ingested the same poison that made the Nephilim’s brain leak out of his orifices.

“Not today, Robin.” She thumbed through the keys, trying a couple in each of my locks. “You wouldn’t know this, but an Asp is trained to use their last words as a means to guide someone else toward their final goal. Not a breath is wasted, not a word is worthless. If I was going to die, you would’ve known it. Remember that the next time you face a threat like Cassial, all right?”

How could I remember anything when I’d just woken up a captive on a Nephilim ship, with one Nephilim’s brain matter pooling beneath his down-turned face?

“And now that’s taken care of, we won’t have long before the others come looking for their missing companion.” There was a click as she finally found the right key. As the lock fell, she began undoing the rest that kept me in place, one by one.

It took a few more minutes until I was freed. I slumped to the floor, catching myself on numb hands, the wet kiss of brain matter staining my palms.

“Get out of those clothes and get yourself in his,” Seraphine snapped. “Do it quickly!”

I did as she asked. My skin shivered with disgust as we undressed the dead Nephilim. There was no time for modesty as I took my trousers off. All I cared about was the almost instant relief that came with the return of my magic, ridding myself of the iron deposits.

My skin began to tingle as the cuts and grazes knitted together. It would take time to completely heal, but the return of some strength was a blessing. I would need it for what waited outside my cell door.

“What now?” I asked the assassin.

“Survive long enough to save the world,” Seraphine replied. I’d never seen her so panicked. Likely because she had some idea of how many Nephilim were on this ship with us. She knew what we were up against, and from her expression, she had little confidence that we were going to get through this.

“How many are there?” I asked.

“Thirty winged pricks, give or take.” Seraphine looked to the door, expecting them to come barrelling in any second. When she looked at me, her brow furrowed and eyes darkened. “Ineedyou to be up to this.”

I clicked my neck, aware the ache was slowly fading. “I am.”

“Good.” Seraphine pocketed the keys.

“The Nephilim are powerful creatures. The Creator’s own monsters. If we have a hope, we should free the others first.” I blinked and saw fire in the back of my mind. A ship engulfed in flames, feathered wings singed to black stumps. “We need Althea.”

For the second time, Seraphine looked away from me. My heart sank to the pits of my stomach. “She is unable to help you now, Robin.”

When Seraphine looked back at me, I saw the answer before she said it. “Cassial has Althea back in Durmain.”

I heard her but didn’t understand her. Unable to see the sadness in Seraphine’s eyes, I pinched mine closed and faced the darkness. In it, my mind replayed the moment the church came down on us, how Althea disappeared beneath chunks of falling stone.

Seraphine had just confirmed what information Jesibel had given me.

“No.” A rush of frozen winds uncoiled within me. “No. No. No.”

Hands grasped my shoulders. “There is a reason I didn’t tell you until now.”

If Seraphine wasn’t holding my arms down, I would’ve been slamming my fists into my skull, hoping to banish the truth out of my mind with my fists, one punch at a time.

“But sheisalive?” I spat, remembering what Jesibel had said.

Seraphine paused. “For now–”

“No,” I said, fury building.

Seraphine’s gaze faltered to the side, unable to look in my eyes as she spoke. “Althea’s fate is worse than death.”

“Why does Cassial have her?”

A political prisoner, a bargaining chip to use against us. Insurance in case his plans failed him.

Knowing that Althea was alive was one thing, but the knowledge of her with Cassial didn’t quell the storm inside of me. In fact, it made it stronger, more violent and ferocious.

Seraphine clapped a hand over my thunderous heart.