“I should’ve cut you down that night you murdered your own parents. I was barely older than you, but I should’ve known better. Vermin like you are trash. Hybrids are trash.” He ripped his arm out of her, violently, dragging it out the side of her waist, worsening the wound even more and nearly splitting her legs from the torso. “What was I thinking? Forming an alliance with a dirty fox… especially one who thought they were stronger than the Sentinels.”

  Snow was unconscious. Normally, the demon would’ve been able to easily push her off him, but her winter clothes had soaked in plenty of the storm, making him struggle, especially with his main hand severed at the wrist. But he managed, eventually. When he saw what Stroke had done to the fox, he didn’t spare a moment to bst the prince with a beam of fire from his one good hand.

  Stroke rejected the fire with his palm, having saw the demon come through the eyes of the Sentinels. When Beion ran out of fire, the young prince flicked his fingers in the direction of the demon, using the power of the God Arm to knock him down with a spear of wind.

  The prince heard pain in Beion’s agonising cries as he filed about on the floor, one leg broken from a harsh nding. The demon begged for Stroke to let the fox live, and for a second, the prince felt a throbbing pain in his soul.

  “You think you can fight me, demon?” Stroke said. “I’m a god. There’s no path where you win. Death thought he could win, and now where is he? Not even the Sentinels can see him in all this red mist. And still, King Godwin Van hasn’t come to defend his own city… he must be scared.”

  Vera sucked in breaths on the floor. Her red fox ears twitched at every small sound. She rested her cheek on the ground, staring emptily at Bianca, who was desperately trying to crawl to her. Stroke noticed this, cockily sauntering to Bianca’s leg and dragging her further away while whistling. He then returned to Vera, kneeling at her side, taking the final tear of the angel from his pocket, rubbing the bck petrified stone between finger and thumb.

  “A third would be useful,” Stroke whispered. “Who knows what the ritual would do to a hybrid.” He touched her gaping wounds like a fragile thing, revelling at her pain. “No.” He put the tear back into his pocket. “This belongs to someone else. This is a gift for Godwin. He is already a monster; I will make him look the part.”

  The prince swayed over the fox with a cruel smile. She looked up at him, terrified. He put his foot to her temple, slowly adding pressure until Vera screamed like prey being eaten alive. Then, he stopped, looking bnkly into an empty street with a head cocked like a curious critter. “Mother?” he said sweetly. He reached out for someone who wasn’t there, eyes watery. “How long have you been watching me? This? Oh… this is necessary. I have to do this.” A while passed between his words. “Why would you say that to me?” he squeaked. “I’m not the vilin here. You of all people should see that I am the victim!”

  Stroke’s madness gave an opportunity. He took his eyes off the Sentinels, lowering his guard to the one person he’d been seeking out—Godwin Van. His brother descended from the skies with a fury, attacking Stroke with a beam of fire from the Sentinels. The young prince defended himself with his arm, but Godwin crashed into him from above, seizing him by the hair and scraping his face against the ground as they skid to the other side of the street.

  Stroke elbowed Godwin in the ribs and sent him to the skies once more, but he came down with even more force—he raised a fist of glowing gold, forcing it downward and stopping abruptly, releasing a devastating shockwave that quickly formed a deep crater in Vatanil’s streets. Stroke remained unharmed in the middle, panting, struggling to breathe—Godwin was much stronger than Harren, and he wasn’t sure why. He coughed blood into his palm, gritting his teeth in rage. When the dust cleared, he saw his brother looking down upon him from the rim of the crater’s crumbling walls with a look of scorn.

  “I am the king,” Godwin said. “Firstborn of Godric Van and Faith Van, King of Van, Ruler of Vatanil. I condemn the murder of Runaya Van with all my heart, and I’m sorry that I allowed our brother Harren to py me as such a fool and put you through so much pain.”

  “You want to apologise now?” Stroke screamed raw. “Runaya is fucking dead, and you want to say sorry. I will get her back, no matter the cost, even if I must sughter every nation.”

  “I know you will,” Godwin said gently. “The cost is too dire. I am the king. Submit. Give me the God Arm and accept punishment for your crimes.”

  Stroke cackled like a hyena. His own brother wishing to hand out a punishment? It was a joke to him.

  “And what would my punishment be, oh great King Godwin… a sp on the wrist like you gave to Harren each time he was naughty, hm? How many have I killed? Look at the destruction, even this crater you just made… there’s blood in that wood, crushed limbs in those rocks, children buried under your blows. You are just as bad as me, brother. Thousands have died, thousands more will die. I could level this entire city with a single blow, and yet I don’t, I still need the foundations of this city. I don’t need you. Speak, or have you lost your tongue up your own ass again? What punishment could possible wait for a god like me?”

  “Execution,” Godwin decred. “A good king is just, and I will be a good king from this day forward, no exemptions, not even for Van blood.”

  Stroke’s eyes lit up with joy. “Finally,” he said. “You’ve grown a dick and balls. Let’s get this done.” He attached his sickle to his belt and brought the power of the God Arm to his leg, spearing Godwin in the torso with a mighty leap, taking them both above the clouds. The sky filled with fshes of gold and booms from the brother’s blows. On occasion, a red fsh would come, and each of the Sentinels would sound like they were quietly weeping.

  “So… beautiful…” Vera moaned. Each light meant a strike, but all things considered, it was pretty. She smiled through the pain, pretending the golden rays leaking from the storm clouds were the angels inviting her to dance with them. She hummed quietly, thinking of her mother’s face to comfort her. “So beautiful,” she said a second time, then she snapped back to fear, speaking as loud as she could. “Beion? Snow? Is anyone there?” Her voice was weak and trembly. “Death? I don’t—I—I don’t want to be alone.”

  Bianca crawled to her, supporting her head and holding up the fox’s head. She didn’t know Vera very well, barely speaking more than a few sentences during their travels, but she’d already garnered great respect from Bianca. Vera fought for Vatanil, even if briefly, and that was enough to make them friends.

  “You’re gonna be okay,” Bianca lied. “It’s—it’s not bad. Just don’t look down, keep your eyes on the clouds.”

  “It’s so pretty,” Vera whispered. “So very pretty.”

  “I know. I know. Just keep looking at them. It’s going to be fine. Focus on them, nothing else.”

  “I’m gonna be fine,” Vera said, not okay in the slightest. “I feel cold. Are you cold?”

  Beion was the second to come. He limped over, falling, crawling to her. She smiled as she met the demon’s pretty red eyes. She raised a weak wand to his stunted pink horns, rubbing them, then lightly tapping his nose with a small giggle. “Hello handsome,” she said. “Did we get him? I think we got him. I kicked his ass, I think. Got him in the fuckin’ belly. Fuck that guy.”

  He looked at the missing half of her waist, shaking his head in pure disbelief. Even if he’d brought fmes to his palm, it wouldn’t matter. The puddle of blood spread around her whole body, and the fox saw it in the corner of her vision. Her eyes filled with terror. At first she thought it was her own hair, but after disobeying Bianca’s orders to stare into the storm clouds, she saw the extent of her wounds and began to cry out for Snow.

  And she did come, slowly. She was disorientated, her broken arm shaking as she held it firm with her other. She had no words, no thoughts, only despair. Her icy eyes filled with even icier tears.

  A small band of bck-eyed owls surround them all. “Fuck you!” Snow yelled at the owls. “Get away from us!” ‘

  “Don’t be so loud,” Vera whispered. “Hurts my ears.”

  Beion ignored her pleas and began to shout for Death. Bianca and Snow joined their voices to his shouts.

  Death did come for Vera, but not the one they wanted—her eyes fluttered with one final breath, and the world was one fox less.

  Beion shook her hard, putting his pointed ears to her half-bare chest after combining his strength with Snow’s to rip open the thick winter clothing. No heartbeat. Only thunder. Bianca punched her chest, remembering how Godwin did the same after she nearly drowned. She learned there was a vast difference between having water in your lungs and missing a quarter of your entire torso after her efforts brought nothing.

  From the cloud of smoke, Death finally appeared, following their voices. He was in different attire, no longer in a coat, only in a simple shirt of bck linen cloth. He had a bloodied sword in his grip, which he dropped.

  “Apologies,” Death said. “That bst was worse than I thought. Both my arms were broken, as was one of my legs. I had to find the doomed souls trapped under—” He saw Vera as he got closer and chose not to finish his tale. “Oh,” he sighed. “That is not good.”

  “Death!” Beion cried. “You’ve got to help her! Help her like you have helped others! You must.”

  The demon is missing a hand, Death thought. Snow has a broken arm, Bianca is already spent, it seems. I see those golden fshes in the sky, I can only assume that Godwin came too te. I gave a lot of my strength to heal Bianca’s body, hers required a lot. I don’t have enough to fix everyone, but I may have enough to fix the fox.

  He grabbed Vera’s limp hand. Death felt… pain. He could feel her fleeting soul, unable to tch onto it. “I can’t,” he said.

  “What do you mean you can’t?” Snow yelled. “I command you to heal her! I command you to fix her!”

  “I can’t,” Death said softly. “My healing is the rawest of all. Even so, there are things I cannot fix—scars, cancers, trauma of the mind, loss of gifts… and… death itself.”

  Snow angrily shoved him with her unbroken arm, ordering the same thing. Her crying became ugly, her breaths gagging on tears.

  Death tried one more time.

  Vera was gone.

  “There is no soul to save. She is gone.”

  “You’re immortal!” Beion said. “You can cure death. If there is anyone in this world who can save her, it’s you.”

  “And I can’t save her,” Death said. “That is not how my gifts work.” He took the role of supporting Vera’s head from Bianca, wiping the blood from her lips.

  “Say something,” Death told Beion. “I know the workings of a body. Her ears still hear us, but not for long.”

  Beion tried to find the words, stuttering on them. He shook his head, ashamed that he couldn’t find the courage to speak.

  I don’t understand what her death means, Death thought. Those sewer people included her in that prophecy, didn’t they? He saw an owl with yellow eyes nearby. It blinked slowly at him. What did they say precisely? fate has pns for all? If fate can so easily say if a soul lives or dies, why did she die here? Is this a lesson? I put aside my beliefs and followed fate… but it’s only guiding me… nothing is promised, not even my life. That is the lesson. There was a path where the fox lived and I neglected it.

  “You did good, fox,” Death said. “You did good.”

  “I’m gonna kill him,” Beion hissed. “I’m gonna fucking kill him. I’ll rip open his chest and put the fires of Hell into his heart.”

  “I want him dead too,” Bianca whispered. “I can still fight. I can fight with my other hand. Fight with us, fight with Godwin. We can save this city as one, not divided.”

  Beion kept repeating his threats. Snow eventually did the same. Death moved to sit between them, squeezing one of their shoulders with a firm grip from each hand. “We need to be alive to mourn,” he said. “I have a pn. Stroke is no longer on the Sentinels. Beion, I need you to go to Hell and bring your sister, Aleirica, she will give me what I need to put him down.”