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“Where else indeed! Just two days ago, you disappeared to run off to some monster-infested city. And you ignored my calls. And everyone else’s calls. The First Angel was quite agitated.”

“How could you tell Nyx was agitated?” I wondered. “She’s always so calm and collected.”

“And she was. Mostly. But her hair was doing that underwater flowing thing that it does, and it was floating in a distinctly agitated manner.”

“So Nyx’s hair follows her moods just like mine does,” I noted for future reference.

“Her hair is a tad more subtle than your hair, Leda.”

“That isn’t hard.” My hair changed colors quicker than a mood ring.

“So these gentlemen…” Nerissa cast a furtive glance down the hall, where Patch and Punch were standing. “…have helped me set up medical facilities on board. So I will be able to monitor the progress of your pregnancy.” She looked at Cadence. “The progress of both your pregnancies. Congratulations, Colonel Lightbringer.”

Cadence nodded in appreciation of Nerissa’s words.

“Wait a minute,” I said. “You’ve set up medical facilities on board? Just how long does Nyx intend to keep me on this ship?”

“I didn’t ask, but I figure it’s not as long as forever.”

“Very funny,” I told Nerissa sourly. But I didn’t dwell on that. I’d just had an idea. “Nerissa, how complete are these medical facilities?”

“Very complete. Don’t worry. I have everything I could possibly need to ensure you have a safe pregnancy and birth.”

“Are the facilities sufficient for you to conduct research?”

“Of course.” A suspicious crinkle formed between her eyes. “Why?”

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s nothing crazy. I just want you to do some research on finding a way to increase the survival rate of the Legion’s initiates.”

Nerissa let out a weak laugh. “You don’t ask for much, do you? The Legion has been around for centuries, Leda. Don’t you think that our doctors would have found some way to improve the survival rate of our initiates if that were even remotely possible?”

“No, I don’t think so,” I told her. “Because I’m willing to bet the Legion never looked into it. Being part of the Legion was always thought of as something holy, like you were chosen by the gods or something. So all those initiates’ deaths were just dismissed as people who were unworthy.”

Nerissa frowned. “You might have a point.”

“Of course I do. And my point is I think the Legion needs to stop being so full of itself. I think lots of people could contribute, lots of people could thrive with just a little extra help. It’s time to dispense with the whole level-up-or-die mentality that has always defined the Legion. The angels think it makes us all strong, but in fact, it makes us weak. Our numbers are falling. Roughly half of our initiates die before they can even become a soldier. Many more soldiers die along the way. There are people out there, wanting to help us, wanting to protect their world. But many of them never get to serve. They die before they’ve even held a sword. We must find a way to give them their best chance. We have failed them for far too long.”

“So, basically, you are going for a complete and total upheaval of the Legion,” Nerissa said.

“Basically, yes.”

“The other angels won’t like it,” she warned me.

“Let me worry about the other angels. You worry about saving lives.”

Nerissa nodded. She set her hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “You’re a good person, Leda.”

I waved her away, smiling. “All right now. Don’t go getting sappy on me.”

Nerissa snorted, then she turned and walked away.

“Leda, this way.” Stash extended his arm, showing me the way. “We’re almost there.”

We passed more armed Legion soldiers in each and every hall. The other godly soldiers had repositioned themselves to cover more of the ship too. I caught a glimpse of Devlin patrolling the corridor Nerissa had taken. And I saw Theon standing guard outside a dining cabin. Cadence and I kept walking. Stash stayed by our side.

He led us into a large room. If I could have picked one thing it most resembled, I’d have said a library. There were bookcases on every wall that wasn’t a window. But there were also plants growing everywhere. And birds chirping. Ok, it was a garden library.

“It’s beautiful,” I commented to Cadence.