39. Imogen

39

IMOGEN

W e stumble out of Wrath's shadows, Leo falling to the ground with the momentum. He mutters a curse, pushing up from the sand and brushing off his hands. The wet specks of red seashell and crumbled white sand stick to his skin—the ones that do fall away leave behind little indents on his palms.

Rain mists down on us, dampening our gowns and flattening our curls.

My body is taught and pulsing, my blood thrashing through my veins. The edges of my vision cloud, and I blink hard, trying to push the haze away. My chest heaves; the air is too thin, and it doesn't fill my lungs.

Pain lances my side, but when I press my hand to the stretch of abdomen there, it runs over unscathed fabric. There's blood on my hands, but it's not mine.

There are voices shouting around me and somebody pushes me past the stormy edge of the lake. We cross the stone bridge. Waves slosh against the stone and splash over the edge, soaking our shoes.

Josie ushers me and Leo away from Casimir with a firm hand on my back. I peer over my shoulder, my hair whipping around my face with the wind. The hard set of Josie's jaw betrays her worry, despite the resolve in her tone. The words she speaks are garbled and slurred together through the rain, but I somehow get the meaning.

Get to safety.

Gun shots echo from the castle and through the lakeside valley. With each resounding pop, I jerk. Leo's hand finds mine, and I realize I'm shaking. Not from the cold, though as we get farther from the walls of Casimir the chill deepens, but from the rush of adrenaline and memory.

This can't be happening again .

My head whips from side to side, searching for the thick swath of Nora's black hair.

Where is she?

"Wrath went back for her. She'll be fine." Josie's voice is strong and steady. She's navigated these situations before, and not only with me. "But she won't be if we don't get you two across this bridge."

We stumble through the ancient magical barrier that surrounds the lake, and then through the extra thin film of the shadow-veil. Leo and the others fall to the soil in varied states of respite, but true relief evades me. Gluttony and her Second heave with their backs against a pine and Envy paces in circles, wildly pulling at strands of his hair.

"What the fuck just happened?" Leo says, staring at the castle in the distance in disbelief.

"I knew there was something wrong with that bitch," Envy seethes. He turns to me, rushing forward with an accusing finger pointed my way. "Did you know she was Seelie? She sold us out!"

Josie steps in his path, a strong hand shoving at his chest.

"Watch yourself, Envy. This is bigger than you," she says.

They have a silent standoff, the tension thick in the air between them. But Josie's the one with a gun, and the audible click of the safety has Envy backing off. He scoffs, a sneer marring his features.

"You're just as much a traitor if you knew." His disdain quickly falls away, a twist of deep-rooted fear and knee-buckling sadness taking over. "And if you didn't, well, then we're all screwed." He falls to his knees, fingers weaving back through his hair, clutching tightly. "Fucking gods. They killed my Second."

"Josie," Leo calls. "Is what we saw true? Those were—" His throat catches on his words. "Those were Seelie wings."

The image of the bright green and black wings flash in my mind.

When Nora's scream rang through the hall, Josie had sprung into action, pulling Leo and me away from the onslaught of bullets. It all happened in a matter of seconds—the shout, the shots, the way I searched for her in the crowd. When I found her, the overwhelming terror I felt as Patience gripped her from behind had the blood draining from my face.

I didn't want her to die. She screamed, and I felt her pain, my magic reaching out to her. It was vast and unyielding, like my soul was burning on the inside and bursting out of my back. I'd never felt anything like it before.

Then the wings unfurled around her, a dark halo. I'd seen those wings before. On the mantel in her living room.

Her wings .

Josie releases a slow sigh. She doesn't deny it. Can't anymore, I realize.

Nora is Seelie.

"Gluttony, start getting everyone back to Anwynn. I'm going back to help Wrath," Josie says, ignoring the question. "Don't bother with the cars. Shadow-walk everyone now that we're past the wards. You should have enough power for that."

"What?" I say. My voice is rough and scratchy. "No. No, you can't go back there. They will kill you."

I grab the hand that doesn't hold her gun. Our fingers slip together, mine trembling and hers steady. The rain is now a deluge falling down on us. Water runs down my face, masking the tear-tracks that I know are on my cheeks.

My eyes sting.

Josie's dark brown hair is slicked and sticking to her skin, darkened to almost black with the water and the clouded light of the storm.

"Don't leave me," I beg.

It's a selfish thing to say, but I say it anyway. I want to save Nora, but I don't want Josie to go either.

Does that make me a terrible person?

The stubborn fight leaves her. I see it in the way her shoulders fall at my request. Her jaw feathers, and her lips mash together.

My heart starts to ache.

"Mo—" She doesn't get to finish whatever she was going to say because the other Sins rush into the clearing.

Greed carries with him the limp body of his Second. Wrath does the same, but carrying Envy's Second. Silas strides behind them, a dark god, shadows already whirling around his feet and curling towards each of us.

"It's time to go," Silas says. His voice echoes between the trees like thunder.

Shadows wrap around my ankles— what the hell is happening?

I search for Nora behind him, but she's not there.

"Where is she?" I ask.

No one answers me. The rest of the Sins slowly disappear into shadows. I step around Josie and towards the Unseelie King, my soaked and muddied heels spearing through the inky tendrils of darkness swirling at our calves. My teeth chatter, the icy chill of the winter rain finally seeping into my bones.

"Where is Nora?" I demand. "You can't just leave her!"

"They took her, and there's too many to fight right now without reinforcements. We need time to regroup and make a plan," Silas says.

"They won't kill her, Mo," Josie says behind me.

I whip around, realizing it's only the three of us left, standing at the center of the storm and Silas's shadows.

"No, they won't," Silas says at my back.

"So, you knew?" Josie asks Silas over my shoulder. A huff of sardonic laughter shakes her head. "Who am I kidding? Of course, you knew. It's the only thing that makes any sense in hindsight."

"Knew what? That Nora's Seelie?" I ask.

Josie steps forward, wrapping me in her arms. I'm stuck in place, trembling in her strong embrace.

"You need to calm down, Imogen," she says, tucking my head into the warm crook of her neck. "You're going into shock."

"Why wouldn't they kill her? They tried to kill all of us! They—they shot me!" My teeth are chattering. My legs are weak and wobbly, and I'm sure I'd be on the ground if it weren't for Josie holding me. My breaths are coming too fast, and darkness creeps at the edge of my vision— or is that Silas's shadows crawling over me? "Wh—why are you all being so calm about this?"

"Mo, you need to calm down or you're going to pass out," Josie whispers in my ear.

"Nora's reputation may be wounded, but her life is safe for now. Patience surely has bigger plans for her," Silas says.

I manage to crack open my eyes, seeing him standing beside us with a look of pure rage twisting his features. There's something there, in the way his eyes soften, that I recognize. My chest heaves in uncontrollable bursts and my lids grow heavy again.

Josie's magic worms its way past my shattered mental barriers, attempting to quell my panic. But before the darkness of sleep or Silas's shadows overtake me, I'm left with a promise from the Unseelie King.

"I'll get her back."