Later that night, when the others had retired to their rooms, exhausted and sore from the fighting, I had a brief exchange with Wren before she went to check on her sisters.

“I’m glad to see you’ve changed your mind,” I told her.

“I kind of had to, since your friends brought all those Destroyers to me,” she replied, her lips pursed bitterly. “We’ll start work on one of the ships tomorrow. Thorn said at least one of the vessels in the harbor below can be restored to sail across the ocean. I’ll be sending our mothers-to-be to Marton, while the rest of us will stay here and join your alliance.”

“You’re making the right choice, Wren. I cannot express how thankful I am that you were there when my brother and his group passed through.” I smiled gently.

We agreed to continue the conversation in the morning, once we’d all rested and were past today’s traumatic events. She gave me a friendly pat on the shoulder and walked out.

It was just me and Draven left in the archive hall, and I could feel the silence grow heavier with every minute that went by. I could feel him looking at me from his distant window seat. I turned around, and he buried his head in the forbidden Druid magic book, his jaw clenched as he flipped through the pages.

I walked toward him, slowly and quietly, watching his expression change as I shortened the distance between us. He turned a couple more pages, then tossed the book away. It landed on the floor with a thud, but I ignored it and took a few more steps.

He looked up, his eyes hooded and flickering black. The closer I got, the more of his torment became visible. His chest expanded with every breath, his eyebrows pulled into a frown, and tension kept his shoulders straight and his face hard. His gaze settled on my face as I reached him.

“I’m guessing no luck with a concealment spell for the Oracles so far?” I asked.

“Nothing. Just a dozen ways to cause pain and suffering and death,” he growled.

He didn’t close himself off this time. I could feel the ribbons of red, simmering rage flowing from him. I figured he was letting it all out so I could sense it and keep my distance, but it wasn’t going to work. I refused to let him deal with this on his own, blame himself for atrocities that had yet to happen and that could ultimately be prevented.

“We’ll find something, Draven,” I replied gently. “Today wasn’t the best of days, that’s all. Why don’t you sleep, rest a little, and start fresh in the morning?”

“How can I sleep, when Vita’s trapped in Azazel’s clutches, the Daughter has been taken away by her psychotic sisters, and there’s the possibility that I will turn into something worse than Azazel, killing all those I wish to protect and keeping you in a cage for my own twisted emotional support?”

His tone was sharp and could cut deep, but I wouldn’t be deterred anymore. We’d been through this before, in different circumstances, and we’d gotten past it. We’d pushed forward and strengthened the alliance against Azazel in the process. There was no way I was losing him now.

“You have to, otherwise you’ll burn yourself out,” I insisted.

He shot to his feet and walked past me, his face a stony mask as he headed for the exit.

“Draven—”

“I need to be alone, Serena.” He stopped without turning to look at me. “I need to be on my own and find my resolve here. I’m afraid my nerves are too stretched right now, and I don’t want to lash out and say something I’ll come to regret. I don’t wish to hurt you…”

It was then that I felt him slowly closing himself off. I could no longer sense his emotions. It alarmed me—I’d gotten so used to living with his soul so close to mine that I didn’t want it to stop. It was selfish of me, but it was also the best way to read him when there weren’t any words between us. I didn’t want to be left in the dark again.

“I understand that,” I replied gently. “But please consider this one thing: you’re taking these visions as absolute truth, when they can still be prevented. We’ve done it before, though I honestly don’t know how we’ve made it so far, since we’ve been winging it like crazy. But we’ve been through this before. And we’ll get out of this in one piece. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I will stop at nothing to protect you and the people I love.”

Draven didn’t say anything, but he did turn around to give me a weak smile.

“Thank you, Serena,” he said, then left.

The sound of his footsteps echoed from the other hall. I huffed and returned to the second volume of forbidden Druid magic. I was tired, and my eyes were stinging, my heart heavy, and my stomach the size of a pellet, but I decided to spend another hour perusing dark spells, hoping I’d find something to keep my brother and best friends concealed from Azazel.

It felt cold and dark, but it wasn’t the ambience. It was my helplessness to protect the people I loved. Draven was torn by his potentially horrible fate. Vita was a prisoner in Luceria, surrounded by Destroyers. Phoenix was heartbroken, left without the girl he’d become bound to. And I could do nothing, other than push forward until we could see the light again.