In my bedroom, I glanced at the window, waiting for the sentinel to pass. Standing here in the dark, cold fear slid through my bones. I really wanted the lights on.

Still, I’d needed the darkness to disguise my actions tonight.

With the sentinels watching, I’d dressed in my little nightgown. I’d snuffed out the fire, and I’d crawled into bed. When the sentinels weren’t in view, I’d bunched up the duvet and sheets. Good enough to approximate a sleeping form.

Unfortunately, as I stood huddled in the corner of the chilly bedroom, waiting for the coast to clear, fear was ripping my mind apart. I could hardly think through the rising panic.

At last, I saw the ghostly form of a sentinel move past. It was time to slip into the hallway.

My blood thundered through my veins as I listened at the door, trying to ignore the feeling that the shadows were closing in around me.

When I heard silence in the hallway—no footsteps or chatter—I turned the doorknob, all the while keeping a running tally in my mind of how many minutes had passed since the sentinel’s appearance. Given the speed at which they moved, I calculated that I had about two minutes and thirty seconds to get to the next hiding spot.

I moved swiftly through the hall, relieved to be in the warm torchlight again. As I moved, I counted the seconds. When I thought it was time for a sentinel’s appearance, I backed up against the wall, waiting until the thing passed.

Tonight, I’d donned a specific type of glamour—one that didn’t disguise me as another being, but just made people less likely to notice me—a glamour of unobtrusiveness. But as well as it worked on humans, I wasn’t sure the sentinels would be fooled.

When the coast was clear, I darted over to the stairwell, yanking open the door. I breathed a sigh of relief. In the stairwell, there were no windows to give me away. Candlelight flickered over the rough stones.

The view of the castle that Kratos had shown me had given me an overall picture of the place, but I still didn’t know where to find a secret meeting between angels.

My plan was to head for the parapet, to use the high view to look for lit rooms around the castle. I’d have to move fast, keeping to the shadows in order to escape the notice of the sentinels.

As I climbed the stairs, I shivered in my stupid skimpy nightgown. After about ten twisting levels, my thigh muscles began to burn. At least I was getting a workout here.

At the top of the stairs, I pushed through the door into the frigid night air, the wind biting into my skin. Immediately, I ducked behind the edge of the parapet, sticking as close as I could to the shadows. My teeth chattered, the shadows closed in around me. The air left my lungs. Tonight, clouds covered the moon and stars, and the darkness would swallow me whole.

I closed my eyes, slowing my breathing until I had control again. I cast a quick glance overhead, relieved to find the sky clear of sentinels.

From my crouched position, I peered over the edge of the parapet, and I caught a glimpse of a light burning warmly in a room. No—two rooms were lit up in the castle, in the same hall—six stories down and one tower over. I counted the windows, trying to approximate the number of doors I’d need to move past in the Tower of Ash.

The rest of the castle looked pretty dark. This seemed as good a guess as any.

Keeping low and in the shadows, I crept back to the door, desperate to be in the light again. As soon as I pried the door open, the torchlight of the stairwell washed over me like a soothing bath. Shivering, I rubbed my arms, trying to warm up.

I walked down the chilly castle stairs, running my fingers over the wall. I wasn’t sure how hard it would be to overhear the angels’ plan. Under normal circumstances, I’d glamour myself as a servant to linger in the background as they talked, but I doubted they’d be planning their revenge in front of any servants tonight, considering the problem in question was a servant rebellion.

As I walked down the stairs, my mind roamed to Susie and Elan. They hadn’t been involved, had they? Worry tightened my chest. I hoped not. I actually liked those two. Maybe I could find a way to check on them after this.

When I’d climbed down six stories, I listened carefully at the door for sounds of movement in the hall. Silence greeted me, and I pushed through into the corridor. From there, I moved swiftly from one obscure to point to another, dodging the prying eyes of the sentinels.

At last, I reached the skull and crossbones that marked the Tower of Ash. I crossed through the arched doorway. Mercifully, there weren’t as many windows in this hall—just a few arrow slits.

I glanced at a painting that hung on the wall. The gold-leaf paint mixed with vibrant reds made it look like a medieval image—they were the type of hues used for saints’ iconography. But I’d never seen a medieval image like this. Above the gold-leaf landscape, a black sun rose over a river of blood. A shiver danced up my spine as I realized it was the exact sort of bleak imagery Adonis had been talking about. If the Heavenly Host come to Earth…

Shuddering, I moved on, scanning some of the other paintings that adorned the stone walls under the vaulted ceiling. Some depicted midnight skies and burning stars, while others showed fig trees and mountains under a fiery night sky.

As I walked, I counted to the tenth door, approximating where I thought I’d seen the candles burning. I crept over to the door, pausing outside. As luck would have it, the door was slightly open. A dim light burned in the room.

I pressed even closer, feeling a cold sweat break out over my skin. What exactly would the angels do to me if they found me out here spying on them?

I pressed my ear closer, listening for the sound of voices. I heard nothing. If Johnny were involved in a meeting, his irritating voice would boom right through the oak, right through the stones of these walls.

Time to move on.

I was pretty sure the next candlelit room would be four doors away. And already, as I began to move closer, I could hear Johnny’s booming tone. Bingo. I flicked a quick glance at the arrow slits in the wall. Unfortunately, this door stood right across from one of them. I’d have to watch for sentinels.

I pressed my back against the wall next to the narrow window, and from the corner of my eye, I watched for movement. As soon as a sentinel drifted past, I scurried over to the door, pressing my ear against the wood. I began my count, tracking the interval while listening in at the same time.

“Why can’t we just kill them all?” It was Johnny’s voice, penetrating the oak door.

“That’s not our mission,” said Kratos. “We are supposed to purify. Not incinerate all life.”

“And that’s what you’re doing with your hounds?” asked Johnny. “Purifying?”

“They only kill the evil humans. It’s what they were born for.”

Sure, Kratos. Keep telling yourself that.

“The sentinels tell me,” said Kratos, “that this mission might be linked to the Order—humans who live within the Tower, hiding like cowards behind walls while the rest of their brethren suffer.”

A flicker of anger smoldered in my chest. Was this really linked to the Order? Maybe Yasmin could have clued me in that this might be coming.

“We slaughter those in the Tower,” said Kratos. “That’s where it ends. They have some sort of magical wards protecting the place, but Adonis has the power to break through them.”

“Oh really?” asked Johnny. “Is he going to do some killing for once? I could go with him and do something a bit creative, you know? I’ve been wanting to design a plague.”

“Let’s keep it simple and precise. Adonis can break through the wards and spread death through the Tower, kill the Order within a day. I don’t know why he hasn’t done it already, to be honest.”

“He doesn’t need to, does he? He’s not like us,” Johnny shot back. “He’s not cursed yet. That’s why he hasn’t even bothered showing up here.”

“He’s a soldier. He’ll do what he needs to do. The entire Tower will be dead within moments. He knows what could happen if he doesn’t.”

My mouth went dry as I thought of Yasmin’s child, the one she’d been working so hard to keep alive with her herbs.

The interval between sentinels was almost up now, and I rushed over to the wall again, crouching below the window.

“Fine,” boomed Johnny. “Speak to the Dark Lord, then.” His voice began moving closer, and my pulse raced.

Their meeting was coming to a close, which meant I had to get the hell out of here.

As I began to rush down the hallway, I heard heavy footsteps moving closer. My heart leapt into my throat. Frantically, I tried opening the nearest door.

Locked.

Two doors down, I knew where to find an open room.

I moved at full fae speed, pushing through the door into a candlelit bedroom, and I shut the door behind me.

As I did, the air left my lungs.

There, Adonis sat on his bed. And given the way his icy gaze was locked on me, that glamour of unobtrusiveness did not work so well on angels.