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“What about you, Auggie?” Cyph asked. “Is it all right with you?”

Face partially hidden in his mom’s shoulder, August nodded.

“All right you two, you should have been asleep long ago.” Looking to us, Ezalia asked, “Do you mind? Someone can show you to your rooms.”

“Of course not,” I said. “Go on.”

The twins bid us all goodbye, Seli taking time to learn all of our names and hug us each while her brother mumbled a quiet good night.

Once they were gone, a staff member led us to a wide hallway with bedchambers on each side. They weren’t grand suites like we were used to, and a part of me was relieved by that. To be closer to everyone.

The rooms were all similar, adorned with various shades of light blues and greens that gave a soothing oceanic effect. Chandeliers dangled with ornate bronze fixtures, swirling like waves. Our packs had been placed within.

After finding mine and taking a few minutes to freshen up in the bathing chamber sink that appeared to be constructed of a large shell, I knocked on Santorina’s door.

“How’s Seron?” I asked, perching on the polished wooden frame at the foot of the grand bed.

“Settled and recovering.” Rina strode to the dressing table and took down her ponytail, combing her straight hair thoughtfully. “He’s lucky. It could have been so much worse. Whatever seaweed wrap Ezalia made on the platform probably saved his life.”

Her knuckles whitened around the brush.

“What is it?” I asked, rising and taking it from her gently, setting it on the table.

Rina sighed. “It could have been any of you. All of you—” Her voice cracked. “I hadn’t been there. Hadn’t even said goodbye.”

It was a fear I’d been trying to untangle since the platforms. Since the Battle of Damenal, really. So many had suffered—died—because of this mission.

But Rina’s apprehension ran deeper, memories of her parents flashing behind her vacant stare.

“I know.” I swallowed. “I’m so grateful we’re all okay.” I almost told her how scared I was, but her round eyes were already glassy. Rina rarely showed this kind of emotion, so instead of giving her more cause to fear, I took her hand and led her to the end of the bed. “We have to keep fighting, but we’re going to be smarter about this. The challenge is that we don’t know what we’re facing or why, but I won’t lose any of you. And next time, you’ll be with us if you wish. It was mere coincidence that you weren’t.”

“I’ll be there. I won’t be left behind to worry again.”

“Excellent.” We shared twin vengefully-determined smiles. “Now, tell me how it’s been with the training.”

She brightened, eyes clearing. “Leo has contacts throughout the territory who are willing to help.” Reaching over the side of the bed, Rina rummaged in her pack. “He gave me this.” She opened her palm.

“A shell?” It was off-white and ordinary, with pink streaks accenting the divots and an oblong shape almost resembling a wing.

“They’re supposedly blessed by the God of Nature and can be used to communicate. So we can use them to discuss progress between different cities.” Carefully, she tucked it back into her pack and curled her legs beneath her.

God of Nature, I wondered. We rarely spoke of the gods.

“How is that possible? That you can communicate with a shell?”

“It’s more of a calling than anything. The shells heat in a pattern. Burning, unceasing is asking for help. Pulsing is code. Long and short beats to spell the messages. I’m still learning how the system works, but Leo said Seawatchers have been using it for centuries—since they started discovering the shells in coves off the black sand shores—and they believe them to be a gift from Gerrenth himself.”

“That’s incredible, Rina.” The concept of communicating via god-blessed shells almost seemed hard to believe. It wasn’t anything I’d ever imagined, but I supposed none of what we were facing was. “Will you show me how it works one day?”

The smile she gave me in answer was so effortless, so full of hopeful radiance, it made me smile, too. Gone was the girl who’d taken over her parents’ tavern after their untimely deaths because of duty. Before me was a woman pursuing change. Pursuing a fairer world. And I was honored to be a fraction of her story.

“How are you doing, though?” she asked, her smile vanishing. She’d spent much of the journey from Brontain studying my scar from Kakias. Between her and Tolek, I hadn’t been alone for a moment as they worked to figure out why it was getting worse.

“I’m fine, Rina. I promise,” I answered too quickly. The scar had been agonizing over the journey, getting worse with each day. It was the same pulsing pain, but more intense.

And I’d started to wonder what exactly Kakias’s blade had been infused with. If it somehow was tied to her power itself. Because this essence beating against my Angelblood was familiar in a way I couldn’t quite name.

It was clear from the purse of her lips that Rina didn’t believe me. “Ophelia, you saying you’re fine is the equivalent of someone saying they’re warm during a blizzard.”