I felt cold and wet. My eyes peeled open—and the panic immediately hit me, like a giant hammer. I was submerged in water. The fear of drowning instantly set in, but it only lasted for a few seconds, until I realized I was breathing.

How the hell am I still breathing?

This wasn’t just any water. It felt like liquid air, and my body seemed to have adjusted to it, somehow. I turned back and saw Abrille in a glass bubble behind me, unconscious and floating, as runes flickered across her skin.

I reached out and felt the glass of my own prison capsule. I looked to my right and saw Vita in her bubble, her hands splayed against the transparent surface as she stared at me with a pained expression. Phoenix was in a separate sphere on my left, rubbing his face and frowning as the reality of our situation kicked in. Obsidian cuffs had been mounted on his wrists, most likely to stop him from using his sentry abilities.

Dread took over, freezing my blood as I remembered what had happened—the Sluaghs’ siege on Stonewall and the Destroyers plucking Phoenix and me from the middle of the fight, Field trying to come after me, two of our mutated shifters following us. Had they made it all the way here?

“Aida, can you hear me?” Vita’s voice wafted over, muffled but still audible enough for me to make out her words.

I nodded, fighting back tears as I understood where we were at this stage in our war against Azazel—at his mercy, suspended in weird waters and unable to get out.

“How did they get you?” Vita asked, her lower lip trembling.

“How’d they get me? How’d they get you?! You and Bijarki were the ones with the invisibility spell! What happened?” I burst out, anger quickly replacing my fear. It was easier to manage, given the circumstances.

“Azazel found the invisible spell pouch that Draven and Serena lost during their first mission here,” Vita replied, looking away. “He was able to track us using our body heat. He saw Bijarki coming in. We only made it to Nova’s room before they caught us…”

“And Bijarki? Where is he now?” Phoenix asked while punching the glass, to no effect.

“I don’t know,” Vita cried, her tears dissolving into the water. “I blacked out…”

“How do we get out of here?” I growled, kicking at the glass as I allowed the rage to take over.

“You don’t.” Azazel’s voice thundered from across the black marble platform.

We all stilled. My eyes bulged at the sight of him. It was one thing to see him in a vision, and something else entirely to be so close to him physically. He was menacingly tall, his broad frame flooding my field of vision, his yellow eyes wide and his long black hair flowing down his back. His beard was trimmed to a fade on both sides, contrasting with his red silk shirt and wide leather belt, fitted with a gold buckle. His presence horrified me as I moved away, my back against the glass.

He slithered toward us, accompanied by Damion and Thadeus.

My heart hammered in my chest as he closed the distance between us. He stopped in front of me, wearing a most satisfied grin.

“The spheres are magically sealed, little Oracles,” he hissed. “You’re all mine now, and there is nothing you can do about it. That liquid lets you breathe because I allow it. One snap of my fingers, and you will drown.”

“Where’s Bijarki?!” Vita pounded her fists against the glass.

The fury I saw in her was impressive. She’d always been the one with the powerful self-control, yet Azazel had managed to bring out the most primal reactions in her. He glanced at her and smirked.

“Your incubus is downstairs, my darling,” he replied. “Getting a personalized introduction to dungeon life. He’ll soon answer for his crimes against my empire. I’ll deliver his punishment myself, just for you to get it through your thick little head that there’s no double-crossing me without paying a hefty price. But I’m a little busy at the moment, getting my troops ready for that alliance of yours. You’d be surprised how fast word travels; I hear they want to come knocking on my castle gates, so to speak.”

“This alliance will be the end of you,” I shot back, baring my teeth.

My wolf instincts were rising to the surface, and every inch of me wanted to tear his head off and rip him to shreds.

“No, it won’t, and I won’t even bother to explain why. You’re too young and inexperienced to understand the magnitude of my power.” He raised an eyebrow at me. “I must say, it is an absolute pleasure to meet you in the flesh, Aida. I trust you’ll all be more cooperative once you’ve spent some time in the bubbles. Or you can insist on being stupid and spend the rest of your lives up here. Your pick.”

“Where’s Nova?” I growled.

He frowned for a second before he scoffed and moved closer to Phoenix.

“Ah yes, I forgot. You know about her,” he muttered. “She’s fine, worry not. I take good care of my most prized possessions. When they let me!”

He put more weight on those last four words as he shot Vita a furious glare.

“I mean, what were you thinking? Did you really believe you could get the upper hand over me? Over me?!” He laughed mockingly.

“The higher they fly, the harder they fall,” Phoenix replied, bringing his face closer as Azazel tapped a finger on the glass.

“Yes, yes, keep telling yourselves that, naïve little Oracles,” Azazel snickered. “But the truth is, you’re all mine, and there isn’t a single thing your friends can do to stop me.”

He straightened his back and moved away, turning to face all three of us.

“I hold magic older than all those rebels put together. Older than some of the Dearghs, even,” he said, his fingers lovingly holding the snake pendant. “And, whether you like it or not, you’re my permanent guests here. You will serve me accordingly.”

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that,” I shot back. “If you actually think we’ll tell you anything from our visions, you’re dumber than I thought.”

A moment passed in silence, during which Azazel glared at me.

“That liquid you’re in is infused with powerful herbs that facilitate visions,” he said, choosing to ignore me. “Every few hours or so, you’ll find yourselves unable to resist as it enters your bloodstream. You will experience visions, and you will tell me all about them. Unless, of course, you’d like to see me string up your incubus friend and slowly peel the skin off his flesh.”

My blood ran cold. I gave Vita a sideways glance. Horror was imprinted on her delicate features, her turquoise eyes wide and fearful. We didn’t have much time, and we didn’t have much of a choice, either. I didn’t see myself sacrificing Bijarki so early in the game, and, judging by the look on Phoenix’s face, neither did he.

“So, ultimately, you three have a decision to make,” Azazel continued. “You obey, and tell me what the present and the future hold, or I pluck it out of you with every inch of skin I fillet off your friend Bijarki. I’ll give you a few hours to decide.”

“There were two more Oracles here,” Vita asked. “Where are they?”

Azazel put on a sad face, but we all knew he didn’t care. His cheap theatricals were only meant to mess with our heads.

“Unfortunately, they didn’t make it,” he replied. “They refused to comply, over and over, so I had no choice but to snap my fingers.”

He turned his back on us and slithered away, with Damion and Thadeus by his side. As Azazel vanished below, Damion glanced over his shoulder and frowned at Vita before following him downstairs. He clearly wasn’t happy to see her there, despite their love-hate relationship, but couldn’t do anything about it.

I took a deep breath, my lungs chilling in the process, and tried to keep myself calm. I knew the alliance would soon begin its siege on the castle; I only feared that we’d be forced to share our visions beforehand just to keep Bijarki alive and in one piece. Otherwise it would destroy Vita, and, most importantly, Bijarki had already risked his life for us more than once. We couldn’t betray him.