She laughed. “That’s optimistic.”

“It’s better than nothing,” I replied. “Besides, I told you already. With you by my side, I’m not that worried.”

Amelia sighed, lowering her gaze. “You give me way too much credit.”

“You’ve saved our asses more than once, darling. I give credit where it’s due,” I said, and leaned closer, searching for her lips. I found them and trapped them in a long and lazy kiss, the kind of kiss that promised an eternity of the two of us, together.

Amelia tasted like sweet morning dew, mid-spring, when all of nature came to life. She welcomed me, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling herself closer. It wasn’t long before I realized that I was seconds away from devouring her completely, from claiming her and making her my own. Her effect on me was downright psychedelic, and I had trouble trusting my own self-control whenever our lips met. What a creature she was, and how she’d already changed me.

I’d failed to see myself as anything other than a raucous loner. Yet Amelia had stumbled into my world, and she’d turned everything upside down. I was too young. I knew it, deep down. Too inexperienced and green for certain things. But my body and my soul reacted to her on so many levels, I couldn’t ignore it. I couldn’t go back to the previous version of myself, because it no longer existed. I only knew this Raphael, who came undone whenever Amelia put her hands on him, who would likely lose his mind if something were to happen to her.

Amelia was a crucial part of me, now, and I had every intention of manufacturing a future with both of us in it. For that, I’d have to stay sharp and work toward our collective survival. Tomorrow would be key.

“We should get some sleep,” she murmured against my lips. Her body was wedged between mine and the wall, but she didn’t have any objection. Her frame was relaxed, her breathing frayed and irregular, her heartbeat drumming in my ears.

“You’re right,” I said, taking a deep breath as I pulled myself back. I’d gotten lost in the idea of her, for a moment, and I was once again becoming acquainted with my surroundings.

She gave me a warm and… loving smile. Without another word, she vanished into her room, while I was left standing in the hallway, listening to the lock clicking. I’d see her again in the morning, I thought, as I went back to my room. I’d see her again in the morning, and, hopefully, in the other mornings to come.

Taeral

I remembered the prison’s layout well from our previous trip. Last time, I’d been looking for Inalia. Tonight, with Eira as my partner, I was looking for Trap. How drastically things could change in such a short time…

We both chewed on invisibility spell capsules as soon as we appeared inside Trap’s office, just to be safe. Once they took effect, we used the red garnet lenses to see each other as we started rummaging through the desk drawers and all the shelves. It was dark, but a sliver of moonlight shone through the square window, enough to help us see what we were doing.

“Look here,” Eira whispered. We stilled for a moment, hearing footsteps outside. A guard probably walked past the door. The sound faded, and there was silence again. I joined her by the desk as she flipped through several folders.

“Investigative files,” I muttered, recognizing the combination of handwritten notes and illustrations. Searching for the truth had always followed this pattern, regardless of the world—descriptions were jotted down, crime scenes were carefully reproduced on paper, everything that could help was recorded.

“Yeah. Trap was really digging into the Hermessi cult,” Eira said, turning the pages. I recognized the fire templar’s house that had burned down, along with the temple where we’d gotten ourselves arrested. Those days seemed so far away now. “He was compiling lists of names, too. Potential cult members,” she added, and gasped. “Oh, dear…”

“What is it?”

“I recognize some of them. High society members. Military leadership icons. He suspected them of cult affiliations…”

“So why would he join the cult, himself?” I asked.

“That’s the thing. He wouldn’t have. And I doubt he would’ve been able to infiltrate it, go undercover and whatnot. As far as I remember, the cult members were given elemental abilities by the Hermessi,” Eira mused. “Surely, the Hermessi would’ve caught on, and they certainly wouldn’t have bestowed such powers upon him. This is a very secretive, closed-off cult. You don’t just waltz in and pretend to be one of them.”

“He would’ve have gone after them, though,” I said, pointing at the name lists. “If he suspected these people of being part of a cult, he would’ve had them followed and put them under constant surveillance, right?”

She nodded. “He would’ve brought them in for questioning, too. He would’ve confronted them,” she replied and browsed through some of his journals. “From what I can tell, he brought in a couple of Agricultural Department officials, but that’s it. He noted that he was frustrated because his superiors didn’t let him do more. According to him, they feared the political backlash, in case his suspicions were wrong. And then it all went quiet.”

“I suppose that’s when he went missing.” I sighed. “But what about the paraphernalia that Medina mentioned? The stuff they found in his house?”

Eira scoffed. “Either evidence he’d gathered, or props staged to make him look like a cult member, for sure. Nothing here mentions him showing any kind of sympathy toward them, that’s for certain. If anything, he was closing in on the cult leader. He’d even found potential sources he was grooming for information. I’m telling you, Medina’s account of Trap is not just shaky, it’s absolutely bogus.”

“Inalia would’ve been helpful here,” I whispered. A light flickered in the hallway, bright enough for it to be noticed through the crack beneath the door and the floor. Eira stared at the strip of amber light for a while, hands gripping another folder. “She could’ve confirmed whether Trap is a cult member or not, since… you know, she’s a Hermessi.”

“Do you think she’s listening?” Eira mumbled.

My heart stopped for a moment, just thinking about it. The implications were risky. “If so, then it would mean she’s aware of our presence here. The others might find out,” I said. “If she tells them.”

“Has she done anything against us?”

“No, but—”

“Then don’t assume,” Eira cut me off, her tone clipped. I didn’t like the thought of Inalia as our enemy any more than she did, but I had to assume it was, at least, a possibility. These were tricky circumstances, and Eira knew it. Her demeanor quickly softened, as she seemed to realize it, too. “Inalia’s a good soul. She’s in a tough spot. I doubt she’d tell the others if she knew about us.”

I nodded slowly, not wanting to pursue this further. “Okay, so, Trap isn’t here,” I said, changing the subject. It was clearly still painful for the both of us—though it hurt her much more than it did me, since she’d known Inalia since childhood. “Shall we try the prison cells next?”

“Yes. That would be a good idea. Not the general blocks. The private cells and the basement. That’s where he’d be, if he were arrested. Frankly, I doubt that’s the case, though.”

“Why?”

“Because everything in here points to Trap being loyal to the empire, and not a cult member. If Medina is spinning this narrative against him and wants him gone, she wouldn’t keep him locked in here. Raphael had a better idea by considering any of her private properties as potential hiding places instead.”

I took a deep breath, then wrapped my hand around hers. “Let’s check, just to be sure.”

In the blink of an eye, I teleported us to the top floor. I’d searched this place before. I knew where the private cells were. We checked each of them, as I zapped us through the entire building, unseen by any of the prison guards. Trap was nowhere to be found.

I brought us outside, in the narrow back alley, for a couple of minutes.

“I think we might have to cut some corners here and just rely on Eva’s truth serum,” I said. “We can’t spend the rest of the night looking for Trap.”

Eira didn’t like the idea, but it was still the best option we had. I understood the urgency, but I couldn’t allow us to get sidetracked from the core mission. Trap’s life was meaningless if we couldn’t save the world.

“Do you know how long it’ll take for her to brew it? And is it effective?” she asked.

“It’s likely similar to what was used on the cult prisoners back on Mount Zur, so I’d say yes. Eva has a few dark tricks up her sleeve, too. She tends to improve on the things she learns, especially where magic is concerned.”

I’d gotten to know the Lamia-vampire better during these trips, and she’d told me herself that she’d made a habit of experimenting and amplifying certain spells. Judging by the devious grin she’d sported upon mentioning the serum, I had a feeling she’d tweaked it for increased effectiveness, having already learned from Jax and Heron’s interrogation experiences.

“She did mention it would be finished by tomorrow, but I’m not sure when,” I added. “Listen, let’s be smart about this. I totally get that you’re worried about Trap, but you know as well as I do that we’ve got a huge issue to deal with, before anything else.” She didn’t object, though her lips parted, slowly, as if she wanted to say something nonetheless. But she didn’t, so I continued. “Let’s search for Eirexis first. Let’s get that out of the way and play it cool while we do it. We’ll find a moment to catch Medina on her own, at some point, and jab her with the serum. Once she starts talking, we’ll find out what happened to Trap. Okay?”

“I’m sorry,” she replied. “I’m sorry I’ve dragged you into this.”

“You didn’t drag me anywhere. Trap is a friend and an ally. I get it.”

“But priorities. I know.”

“We’ll figure it out. Let’s just make sure, first and foremost, that we don’t get ourselves obliterated tomorrow while we try to get Eirexis,” I said, smiling.

Inside, I was downright terrified, though I refused to show it. The implications of finding Eirexis had never left my mind, despite my calm demeanor. I knew we’d bump into the Hermessi out there, and that they would do everything and anything to stop us from getting Thieron’s handle. I also knew that walking away with Eirexis was, in itself, a complicated mission. An old and powerful Reaper guarded it, and we had to defeat him.

How, we had no idea. Either way, Death wouldn’t let Eira, Lumi, or me die until she got Thieron back. That much I knew. But it left the others open to premature death, and I couldn’t have that. I just couldn’t.

Exhaling sharply, I took Eira’s hand in mine and teleported us back to the palace, inside her room. I left her there, promising to come back for her in the morning, when it would be time to leave. The look in her eyes told me something I’d already become painfully aware of: none of us would get much sleep.