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“Yes, he did that, but what just happened, it was…” He tossed the bag onto Aein’s bed, raked a hand through his hair, and shook his head. With a shuddering breath, he met my gaze and bit his quivering lip. “They’re dead, Véa.”

“Who?”

He swallowed, eyes softening.

“Am I supposed to know what that expression means? Because I don’t. Billions are dead. That’s been established.”

He frowned, nostrils flaring as he struggled to hold in his tears.

“What, Nix? What are you talking about?”

A short moment of silence. The only sound was that of the children playing downstairs, and Heylel’s occasional correction.

“Pa.” The tears in his eyes beaded over again. “Hana.” He wiped some snot from his nose and whispered, “Venark.”

Over and over, I listened to those three words in my mind. I replayed the conversation that’d led up to them, and…

I had to have misheard.

We were eternal. We did not die. Not on accident, at least.

“What?” I asked again. “What do you mean?”

“It-it—We just went to talk. That was all. And the boys, they-they just—They got so defensive. Every one of them. They said that—” He cut himself off to pull in a breath. “They said that those bastards got what they deserved, and Lux didn’t deserve a punishment, and-and—And then everything just blew up. Venark, he-he said they’d have to kill us all to take power over our people, and then they—then they—and then they—” He lifted both hands into his hair, grabbing fistfuls at the back as the tears exploded. “They just fucking killed him, Véa. I’m so sorry. I’msosorry. I-I was outnumbered, and then a second later, they-they stabbed Hana too, and Pa went to help her, and then I saw Selaphiel siphoning Hana’s soul, and I lapsed there to stop him, and then Michael grabbed me, and we were outside, and he was on top of me, and-and—Rafael said they’re coming after us next. They’re going to kill us all, and we need tomove. We need to get everyone together, and prepare, and find a way to hide until we have a plan, and-and-and—”

He dropped onto Aein’s bed, heaving in breaths, shaking his head vigorously, grasping the frame for stability.

All of that had fallen from his lips so quickly, I couldn’t even begin to process it.

Only one line resonated, and I still wasn’t sure I’d heard it correctly.

“My brother’s dead,” I whispered. “He’s… He’s not just injured. He’s dead.”

Nix dropped his face to his hands, doing his best to muffle his sob, but it still snuck through the cracks between his fingers.

That was his confirmation then.

Venark’s dead. My twin is dead.

I repeated the words over and over in my mind, hearing them, but unable to come to terms with them. That wasn’t true. It couldn’t be.

I’d just seen him. A few hours ago, he was a few seats down from me. His eyes were glowing, and his mouth was running, and…

“He’s dead,” I murmured.

“I’m so sorry.” Nix wiped the tears, swallowing a few times as he met my gaze. “I didn’t… They’re family. Pa’s their grandfather, and Hana’s their aunt, and I… I didn’t think… We were just there to talk. That was all. Venark snapped at them, but it was just… Fucking stars.”

I didn’t have words either. I didn’t understand. I couldn’t think it through, not in any detailed capacity, not after the way Nix stormed in here to pack our bags.

“They’re coming after us next?” I asked. “Is that what you said?”

“That’s what Rafael thinks.” Nix stood, forcing himself to regain his composure. “We have spells around the house, but the boys have ways past them. And they were ruthless, Véa. We need to get somewhere safe with the children.”

And so we would. “You go sit with them. I’ll pack.”

“I don’t want them to see me like this. I—”

“But your abilities are better against an Angel’s than mine. I’ll pack. You go protect our babies.”