“‘GABRIEL.’
“The whisper woke me from bleak dreams, stained with blood’s perfume. The dark was waiting when I opened my eyes, my body stiff and aching with cold. There was warmth at my back, and I heard her murmur as I shifted, and for a second, I fancied myself back home in the bed we’d made and the life we’d built, the song of the sea in my ears. But the voice came again, not behind, but out in the night beyond the cave.
“‘Gabriel.’
“I eased my greatcoat off us, tucking it around Dior’s back. Again, the girl stirred, frowning, eyes flickering beneath her closed lids. Dreaming of rats and mother’s mouths, I supposed. I dragged the last log into the embers to warm her, dragged myself to my feet. And quiet as cats, I slipped into the dark outside.
“The world was still and frozen, dark as dreaming. I saw the silver ribbon of the Volta below, a thin clifftop leading to a lonely drop. And she called again, whisper soft.
“‘Gabriel.’
“I followed her voice, along the freezing stone and up to the very edge of that precipice. And on the other side of the river, back across the freezing Volta, I saw her on the shoreline. Just a pale shadow in the frail dawning, face framed by long locks of midnight. A beauty spot beside dark lips, one eyebrow arched as always. She stood among the snow-clad boughs and the ruins of a once-green kingdom, watching me. And she spoke then, lips moving, her voice a warm whisper in my mind.
“‘My lion.’
“‘My life,’ I sighed. ‘How did you—’
“‘Always, Gabriel. I will always find you.’
“She looked at me across that dark and frozen gulf. My boots edged closer to the fall. The sun was struggling to raise its head over the worldsend, through the daysdeath shroud. All the horizon was the color of blood, as if the whole world were drowning in it. Beautiful. Horrifying. And I realized I couldn’t remember what real dawn looked like anymore.
“‘Tell me you love me.’
“‘I adore you.’
“‘Promise you will never leave me.’
“‘Never,’ I breathed. ‘Never!’
“Her hand drifted up to her face, one long fingernail tracing the arc of her lip. I realized she was weeping, tears of blood streaming down her face.
“‘I miss you so much…’
“‘Hero?’
“I turned at the call, Dior’s voice echoing within the cave behind. I looked back to Astrid, standing on that bleak shore, the wind blowing long locks around her pale curves. For a second, it was all I could do to not fling myself off that edge, swimming back across that black expanse and throwing myself into her arms.
“‘If I can find you,’ she warned, ‘Danton can too.’
“‘Next time, I’ll be ready.’
“‘Hero?’
“I could hear the slight tremor in Dior’s voice now. Glancing to the cave.
“‘I have to get back,’ I whispered. ‘She sounds frightened.’
“‘She’s not your concern, love. Remember why you left us.’
“‘Astrid, I…’
“My voice failed as she turned, slipping away like a ghost, bare and pale between the trees. Nothing but an empty shoreline and the drop into the Volta below. Hands shaking, I wiped the tears from my face, dragged my hair back, squeezing through the crack and into the warmth of the cave beyond. Dior was by the flames, huddled inside my greatcoat.
“‘There you are,’ she said.
“‘Here I am. You aright?’
“She shrugged, like she was donning a suit of armor. ‘I thought maybe you’d…’ Dior frowned, noting my bloodshot eyes. My haggard face. ‘Are you aright?’
“‘No. I’m thirsty.’
“The girl looked at me, suspicious. ‘You know … you talk in your sleep.’
“‘And you snore. But you don’t hear me complaining.’ I glanced to the breaking dawn outside while Dior made small noises of outrage. ‘If you’re awake, we should get moving. It’s a long walk to Redwatch. And I need to find something to smoke.’
“Her face soured at that, all concern vanishing. ‘Have to feed the need, eh?’
“‘It’s not like that,’ I growled. ‘I’m not your mama. I’m a paleblood, girl.’
“‘Maybe. But I can still see a shadow on you.’
“‘This thing is in my veins. It makes me what I am. I don’t do it for fun. I do it because I have to. You give the beast his due, or he takes his due from you.’
“‘But … your foundry, your chymicals, they were in your saddlebags.’
“I sighed, throwing a mournful glance back across the river. ‘Oui.’
“‘We could go back to San Guillaume? Jezebel is still in the stables. We cou—’
“‘No,’ I said flatly. ‘Too dangerous. Jezebel broke loose during the battle anyway. She’s fucking miles away by now. I visited Redwatch years back, and there’s folk there who truck in dark places. We get to the Night Market, I’ll find what I need.’
“‘What happens if you don’t?’
“I swallowed hard. The burn was already beneath my skin, soon to spread out through my spine, all the way to my fingertips. I glanced to Dior’s lips, the pointed chin beneath, that thin, throbbing vein just below her jaw.
“I snatched Ashdrinker from the wall.
“‘Let’s get moving.’”