down. Samael stood above her. He was bare chested, terrifying gold tattoos sweeping over his face and arms. Flames danced in his eyes, and dark wings cascaded behind him. Chains of fire writhed over his body.
Alice put her head on the block, and I kept screaming for her to stop. To stand up.
The sight made my mind go blank with fear. He was Death and mortals were never meant to behold him, we were never meant to understand that he was coming for us all. This was the knowledge that angels never should have passed on.
The weight of grief pulled me back under the water, until a sharp and icy darkness enveloped me.
As I slept fitfully, the cold went down right to my bones, made my teeth chatter. I felt as if frost were spreading on my skin, until something warm and heavy covered me, like an embrace.
I woke to find that although I was still naked, a second blanket covered me. Warm and heavy. I pulled it up to my chin, wanting to stay in its softness for longer. Sunlight streamed in through tall, narrow windows between the stacks of books.
When I eventually stood, I found that my nightgown and cloak had dried overnight, and the fire had been lit again.
I also found clothing laid out on his bed. Women’s clothing, from the previous room, and the children’s reading book. I dressed, then cracked open the book.
Now, I had some serious tasks on my agenda for the day: practice reading, find Finn to get a message to him.
And seduce Samael. It would make him mortal, for a time. I didn’t know how long, exactly. A minute? A month? Perhaps I’d have to keep him in a permanently mortal state. Just in case I needed to murder him.
27
Lila
Dressed in a knee-length gray dress with a cute white collar, I stood outside the count’s office. All morning, I’d stayed in his library, working on my first task. Literacy.
Because if I was going to be some kind of double agent, working with the resistance, it would help to be able to read and write messages.
With food and coffee laid out before me, I’d practiced reading, sounding out little words over and over. Sourial had come by with more children’s books, and papers with short words I was supposed to memorize: the, and, so. It was difficult, but I was enjoying it.
Although I was far from reading the enormous volumes stacked around the library, I was not bloody terrible at it so far. I’d even worked out some simple sentences with minimal gnashing of teeth.
But now I had to get to my second task for the day: finding Finn to pass on a message.
I knocked on Samael’s door again, waiting for a response.
I had a reasonable pretext for needing to leave the castle. They've given me a million dresses and a cloak. I had all the food I needed, all the wine I needed.
What they had not given me was underwear. I was going to propose that I get some.
If he let me go at all, he would send me with a guard, maybe two. But if I was clever enough, I'd be able to slip away for a moment or two.
At night, Finn worked at the music hall. But during the day, he often helped out his father selling clothes on Underskirt Lane. I’d buy something from him, and whisper a quick warning for the Free Men. If the Free Men were enemies of lethal angels, then perhaps they were fighting the good fight.
When the door opened at last, Samael loomed in the doorway. He leaned against the frame, staring down at me. “Yes?”
I cleared my throat. “I don’t have any knickers.”
His gaze flicked down to my skirt. In his gray eyes, his pupils dilated rapidly. “Oh?”
“I mean I’d like to buy some.”
He arched an eyebrow. “We’ll send a servant for some.”
He started to close the door, but I touched his arm. “They won’t know what size to get. Or the kind I like to wear. It’s better if I go myself.”
“You want to leave the castle. The day after I caught you trying to escape.”
“Just for underwear. You can send soldiers with me.”
“Sourial will accompany you, and a few soldiers.” His eyes narrowed. “Do you happen to know anything about two missing Clovian soldiers?”
My heart kicked up a notch. “Why would I know about that?”
“They were patrolling the castle. Their bodies turned up on the river bank, bones shattered. Completely broken,