2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I 'm never going to beat her, Elaine thought as she threw up a wall of ice.

A flash of darkness lit beyond it, a form surging toward her. Something struck the shield, the blow sending her sliding back across the damp grass. Somewhere, Aya's laughter echoed among the trees. Fire prickled in Elaine's chest, determination surging through her blood. She sucked in a deep breath, centering herself. Her heart slowed, a steadiness settled into her limbs.

"Giving up yet?" Aya teased.

Elaine snorted, saying nothing.

Movement flashed beyond the wall and struck—hard.

Ice shattered.

Elaine staggered back, cursing. Her hand dropped to the dagger at her side, fire already sparking along her fingertips, coating the blade. A wall of shadow rose up, tall and vast, and rushed toward her.

She yanked the dagger back and threw it.

The blade speared clean through.

But the wall didn't even falter.

Aya exploded through, wings outstretched, her eyes black as death.

Elaine dove out of the way; surging to her feet, she spun around and drew a second blade. Heart-pounding, she sprinted forward. Aya—a fraction slower with her wings, still finding her balance—turned too late. Elaine was at her back, the cold tip of her blade at Aya's neck. Aya froze. A tiny prick of blood welled, glistening for a moment in moonlight.

"I got you," she crooned.

Aya shivered with a soft laugh. "Oh?"

Elaine opened her mouth to speak when Aya suddenly pitched forward. She yelped, startled as she was caught in a tangle of limbs and wings, sliding across the grass. Her head smacked the ground, stars flashing across her vision. Everything doubled as a string of curses tumbled free, dancing with the distinct sound of laughter.

It cut off sharply.

"Fuck." She felt herself pulled up suddenly, a warm hand on her cheek. "Elaine?"

She closed her eyes and pressed her palm to her head. Warmth flowed easily, Dianera's healing magic answering through Elaine's touch. The pain dimmed. When her head finally stopped thumping, her vision clear, she found Aya sitting on her haunches. Her wings were loose at her side, a rather amusingly sad sight against Aya's soaked hair and filthy clothes. It was the most bedraggled and unthreatening Elaine had seen her.

"I told you, I can take a hit," she replied, waving off Aya's look of protest. "Besides, I know you fight dirty. That's on me."

Something unreadable flashed in Aya's eyes, vanishing quickly beneath a smirk. "Perhaps you should learn from my brilliance."

Elaine rolled her eyes. "Admit you just want me pinned beneath you."

"My love, if you wish for me to devour you until you're screaming my name, just say so."

Elaine snorted as she got up. "Maybe I want you on your knees, begging me. "

"That can be arranged."

All the wicked and delicious visions of what Aya Sinclair was capable of flashed through her mind. Tempted her to abandon the training. Her lips parted when heavy footsteps crunched over leaf litter nearby. In a flash, fire sparked in her hands and wrapped up her arms. Aya was beside her, wings outstretched. The shadows crowded in around them, chilling the air to a winter's kiss.

Their home was far from the Inner District, secluded deep in the woods of Purgatory. No one stumbled upon their land, not with the wards Sabra put in place, or Aya's reputation.

Aya straightened up suddenly and cursed. The darkness retreated. Tension bled away to amusement, curling her sinful mouth into a wry grin.

"Sabra, you can come out!"

There was a pause before an answer came. "Are both of you clothed?"

Elaine snuffed out the flames. "It's safe."

From the edge of the clearing, Sabra sauntered into view. Her luminous blue skin glowed in the moonlight, stark against her raven black hair and eyes like twin pools of an abyss one might drown within. Elaine hadn't known what to make of the demon when they first met, given Sabra was rather keen to kill her—or, at the very least, let her die by someone else's hand— but she rather liked her now. Considered her more than a friend, a sister in all but blood. Someone she would kill for.

"You can't blame me for being a little cautious," said Sabra, arms folded across her chest. "I thought you were training a few days ago and—"

"Sabra." Aya's voice dripped with warning.

Elaine's cheeks flooded with warmth, recalling the moment in question. Her, pinned up against a tree, one leg over Aya's shoulders, and a wicked tongue tearing a scream from her lips. Right when Sabra shrieked in horror. She spent the next few hours at home complaining.

Tobias, who had been back for a few days after spending time in the Inner District with Alexios, merely pointed out he'd warned her of such events. That she ought to announce herself before she entered private training sessions, which of late, did end up with Elaine and Aya very naked. Or at least someone screaming—or both.

Clearly, something pressing had occurred, prompting the disruption despite the earlier incident.

Elaine smoothed down her rumpled uniform and headed over. "What's happened?"

Sabra looked to Aya first, a silent conversation playing out, before she returned her attention to Elaine. "The council sent word about Lilibet's execution. It's scheduled in two days."

A warm hand settled on the small of Elaine's back. Instinctively, she leaned into it. So, it had come. Elaine's stomach twisted uncomfortably. She hadn't known Lilibet well but understood how deeply the betrayal stung the others.

"There's more, isn't there?" Aya's voice was cool. To anyone else, it might've been hard to interpret, but Elaine sensed the wariness and irritation.

Sabra dug out a letter from the folds of her cloak and opened it up. "They've invited all of us to meet with the council to discuss the issue with the barrier. Since we're cleared of any punishments for Honoria and Marisol, they're…well…you best have a look."

Elaine took the offered letter, devouring the words. Acutely aware of Aya close at her side, reading as she did, the sharp draw of breath mirrored her own shock as it pulsed through her. Her gaze snapped up.

"They officially want to hire us?"

The house was uncomfortably quiet. Only the crackling fire provided Elaine a break as she readied a teapot. She pressed her palm to the side, heating the water until it boiled, then added the small satchel of leaves. In the corner of her gaze, Aya remained standing by the fire. Framed by its glow, she resembled a dark, celestial being with leathery wings draped down her back. The haphazardly back of her shirt allowed them movement, but Elaine didn't miss the tension in the muscles, her lover still acclimating to the new addition. Her unreadable, fathomless eyes remained fixed upon the flames, no doubt churning over the letter that lay upon the dining table.

Elaine wanted to burn it.

Once the tea was ready, she served it into little cups, then brought it over. Sabra moved off the chair and took one gratefully.

"It's nice having someone who can make a proper cup of tea," she remarked.

Elaine took one cup and gently touched Aya's arm.

A sharp breath escaped as Aya blinked several times. Distractedly, she claimed the cup and murmured a thank you.

Elaine hesitated to pull away. "Are you going to visit her?"

"No."

"You should."

Aya's gaze jerked up. "She doesn't deserve my forgiveness."

"No, she doesn't," replied Elaine patiently. "But you deserve answers and I know you could ask her after…but that's assuming her soul sticks around. Our experience with such things hasn't been great."

"I won't let her rest," said Aya as she stepped back from the flames. "I don't care that she betrayed me, but her actions got all of you hurt. That I will never forgive."

The shuttered gaze spoke volumes. While Elaine had glimpsed much of Aya's wrath, she wondered just how deep it ran. What truly dark things her lover was capable of.

"Perhaps," she replied evenly, pausing as Aya's gaze narrowed on her. Squaring her shoulders, she continued softly, "at the very least, she owes you answers."

"She told you why she did it. To be with her family."

And there it was. The wound laid bare. Lilibet was someone Aya considered a friend—as family —and Lilibet threw it back in her face. Elaine refused to show any pity or sympathy, suspecting Aya would only retreat further from her.

"Well, maybe she owes it to the family she betrayed to give some honest answers," said Elaine. Sensing the argument was nearing its end, and Aya's tension at an all-time high, she retreated to the lounge. "How are folks executed in Purgatory?"

"Bit of an expert, are you?" Sabra peered at her from over her steaming teacup, a glitter of amusement barely masking the tension in her own body.

Elaine shrugged. "I've seen my fair share; beheadings, burnings—"

It was Aya who cut her off, voice cold as the very death they discussed. "She'll be hanged."

"That's…" Her voice trailed off. She'd seen a few hangings in her decade on the run, though few societies seemed to take to it. As if it wasn't inventive enough.

Aya stalked toward the front door. "I'm going out."

"To see her?" The words were out before Elaine could drag them back.

The front door was flung open. A chilling mist whispered through, ferrying with it the frigid night air. The fireplace flickered, and she swore even the house hissed at the sudden intrusion of cold.

Aya stared at her, eyes black as death. Her wings shifted behind her back. "I'm going for a walk."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"Stay. Rest." Aya started to turn to head out when she paused again, her face momentarily soft. "You need sleep."

Because you've been having just as many nightmares as me , she seemed to tell Elaine.

The silence was a vast ocean between them, and Elaine didn't know how to cross it. Not at that moment, when her own inexperience left her floundering.

Aya bowed slightly, then was gone into the night.

She didn't know how long she stared at the door, fighting the urge to go after Aya, when a hand settled on hers. She flinched at the touch. Sabra was already pulling away, taking up the space beside her on the lounge. Wordlessly, Sabra drew her knees up to her chest, and in the quiet glow of the fire, she appeared older, wearier.

"I don't want to go back," she murmured.

Elaine tilted her head. "What?"

"To the demon realm."

She was nearly about to ask when Sabra looked to the fire, the flames reflected like ribbons of burnished red in her dark eyes. "If the barrier falls and…and—"

"It's not going to fall," Elaine bit out.

Sabra snorted softly. "You can't control everything. This may be beyond even your esteemed powers."

"Well, consider me one for telling fate to kindly fuck off. You're right where you belong."