The shift was instant. Sabin completed the change from a cowering man to a captain in charge. He stood straight, shoulders pulled back, chin tilted up. Still, worry pinched at his brows. He turned to the Scion.

"I am sorry for the rush. If you wouldn't mind, I am needed on deck. You can wait here and try to get your answers from the girl, because she will have more than I do, or you can make your departure. If Roan is a man of interest to you, I doubt he will be free long enough to cause me any trouble."

Perhaps the indirect compliment to the Scions' capabilities softened the woman's ego a bit, but she almost looked impressed. "Let us be on our way up then, Sabin. Girl, follow us," she said, glowering down at Ash. "Either you will do so willingly, or I will force you to. Do you understand?"

Four pairs of eyes drilled into Ash: Sabin, the Scion, the crewmate who had escorted the woman down, and the new one who had just appeared. Ash hunched into her shoulders, but she couldn't make herself small enough to vanish. The magic squirmed, an offering, but she shoved it back down.

The woman's hand twitched, and a faint orange glow lined her hand. "Don't be a fool," she said, as if sensing the powers that had risen within Ash.

To go with the Scion would be the foolish thing to do, at least if Ash was right about her intentions. Forcing her voice to work past the lump clogging her throat, she asked, "What will you do to me?"

"I see you would prefer not to wait." The woman's lips curved into a slicing smile. "Sabin, you may proceed with your business. It seems this girl wants to have our chat here."

Sabin hesitated for a moment, and a delusional, optimistic part of Ash dared to hope the man would argue, but then he nodded. "Come along, lads. Let's see who our potential guests are."

They filed out of the room, leaving Ash alone with the Scion.

The woman smiled. It was far too sweet for the dark gleam in her eyes. She stepped toward the bed, and Ash finally stood from it on the opposite side. The mattress at least provided some sort of barrier between her and the daughter of the gods. Not that she believed it would be much use if the Scion decided to act.

Her smirk at Ash's attempt said she thought the attempt just as futile. "I am quite curious how you encountered someone such as Roan. Was he the one who gave you that foul imitation of the gods' gift, or did he find you already with it?"

"Does that change what you do with me?" Ash cursed how quietly her voice came out, a slight tremor to the words themselves.

The Scion considered for a moment, and then she shrugged. "Likely, no, but your compliance, or lack thereof, will decide if your death is swift or drawn out."

Ash's blood turned to ice, and all rational thoughts left her. It was true, then; they planned to kill her. Callum would be out there, and only Ash knew what happened to him. Odella continued on in her withdrawn state, and only Ash had an inkling of what had happened to her.

Her head shook before her mind even had time to restart. "No, please, you can't kill me. Odella. The god's most recent Dreamwoven. She's my twin sister. She... She... Roan cursed her!" It wasn't the entire truth, but she swallowed down her bitterness at how the curse itself started because of whatever the Scions or gods wove into the spell to begin with. She wouldn't appeal to the woman by throwing out the accusation. "I have to help her."

The Scion regarded her once more, a new quirk to her lips. Ash held her breath, daring to hope this would be enough. The woman really hadn't known who she was, and now that she did, she wouldn't dare hurt her. Roan had twisted the truth. The gods played no part in Odella's state; the Modika had been searching for her out of concern; Ash would go with the Scion now and they would work together to set everything right.

Then the Scion's shoulder rose and fell. "That at least explains why she has been absent. Tell me, is that how you got involved in all of this? Did Roan promise to lead you to your sister? Or..." She tapped one of her fingers on her lips. "Or, do you know where she is?"

The fraying rope of hope Ash clung to finally snapped, sending her plummeting into a treacherous sea. The Scion spoke dismissively at the revelation of Odella, as if a missing Dreamwoven was an inconvenience. If she didn't care about one of the gods' chosen, who would she care about? Or did she at all? Ash had thought Roan the outlier, but what if they all saw humans as a means to an end?

Ash's expression must have shifted because the Scion squinted. "What?"

Ash clenched her fists at her sides and shook her head, and an unwavering resolve solidified within her despite the turmoil of her thoughts. "I will not help you."

The Scion's suspicion dropped instantly, fury replacing it. "You may say that now, but I am sure you will change your mind when it is either speak to us and receive a quick, painless death or suffer the slowest, most painful one magic can inflict."

Scions were all monsters, not just Roan, and the well of hatred she felt for him spread until she could almost see him in the woman's place. "Fall into a pit of sea serpents," she hissed.

"Fine," the woman snarled. "Have it your way."

Orange magic flared around her hand, looking more like fire than it had previously. She stepped forward and extended her palm. Heat radiated off the energy. Ash flinched away, back hitting the wall—

Shouts sounded from above, followed by a large crash. The Scion startled and jerked her head up.

Ash's own fearful curiosity brought her up short for a moment, but the adrenaline coursing through her snapped her to her senses quickly. Whatever was happening above, it gave her a small opening. The Scions already planned on killing her, so now she had nothing to lose.

Her closest weapon was a pillow, so she picked it up and flung it with all her might at the woman's face.

The Scion batted the pillow away with an irritated shriek. Ash dove past the bed toward the desk and wrapped her hands around the chair. The woman twisted to face her just in time for Ash to swing the furniture her way.

It crashed into the Scion's shoulder. Like Ash had predicted before, she found the bounce from the chair refusing to break awkward, but she planted her feet and brought it back down for a second attack.

Except this time, the Scion saw it coming. She caught one of the chair legs and yanked. Ash stumbled forward, and the woman grasped her arm with a magic-encased hand. Ash screamed. The sensation of fire scorching her skin stretched everywhere the orange energy touched.

The magic. This was what it could do to her. Never truly setting her ablaze yet making her experience it just the same. Her heart somehow beat faster, and she released the chair to claw at the woman's arm. Anything to break the contact and escape the burn.

"I gave you the option for this to be simple," the Scion hissed, the heat burrowing deeper into Ash's skin, "but I will be sure they torture every ounce of information out of you."

The pain blazed up Ash's arm and fried every nerve until her entire being was on fire. Dark spots filled her vision, and she choked on her screams.

No, she refused. She wouldn't pass out, not while Callum and Odella still waited out there, relying on her.

Maybe it was the thought of her twin that took her mind to her family. The unexpected voice of her father rose from the darkness, whispering words from the small stint when he was teaching them to defend themselves. "Remember, girls, even if you cannot overpower your opponent, anyone can gouge out eyes."

Gritting her teeth, Ash squinted through her tears until she could get an idea of where the woman's face was, and then she attacked. Part of her hand collided with the woman's nose, but underneath a couple of fingers, she felt something soft give to the pressure.

The Scion wrenched away with a shriek. Ash took deep gulps of air as the pain vanished as abruptly as it appeared, though it left behind a phantom brush of heat.

Spewing vehement words in another language, the woman grasped at her face. An angry orange energy surrounded her hands, and her eyes glowed like stars in the night. There was so much magic pouring from the enraged Scion that Ash could feel it brushing across her skin in a silent threat.

She gulped. She may not even make it to Lusabrim after this, not if the woman had any say, and there was only one way to make sure she didn't. Ash's heart recoiled at the idea, and she wasn't sure if she could do it even if there was anything sharp in the room. She settled on grabbing the chair once more and brought it down on the woman's head.

The Scion blocked most of the blows with her flailing arms, but she stumbled back and fell against the bed. With her struggles to avoid Ash's attacks, she also entangled herself in the sheets.

Ash threw a quick glance at the door. She'd done so much, but now what? Through the door were dozens of traffickers and perhaps a ship of other people. But there was no guarantee the others were bad. If they thought Sabin's ship was just a trader ship... It could be a country's ocean fleet. It could be true, honest traders. So many possibilities that weren't a Scion intent on killing her.

She threw the chair at the Scion, who managed to disentangle herself, and darted for the door. Her hand found the knob—

Flames wrapped around her ankle and yanked. Ash crashed to the ground. The wind rushed from her lungs in a pained gasp, and the wood scraped at her exposed skin as the heated grip dragged her back.

"You wretched, miserable little speck of waste." The woman stood over Ash, a whip of energy connecting her hand to Ash's ankle. Rage painted her face red, almost hiding the damage left by the chair. Blood gathered beneath her left eye, which she squeezed shut. "You will not die until I make sure you remember nothing but pain. You will regret ever living for daring to—"

The door slammed open.

The Scion lifted her gaze, and shock momentarily replaced the hatred before it returned in greater force. "What a pleasure to finally meet you, Nightwrath."

Nightwrath. The word sent an involuntary shiver down Ash's spine. Everyone knew the term. When someone died, the gods sent one or two greater spirits to collect their soul. A nightgrace led the pure souls to a realm where they lived their happiest dreams, and the nightwraths dragged the tainted souls to face a realm of unending nightmares.

Ash had heard rumors that people only knew about the greater spirits' existence because Scions could see them, but that wouldn't explain why one was here or why it would need to barge through a door.

"Step away from the girl."

It also wouldn't explain how Ash could hear a voice, not unless she'd died without realizing it. She twisted, part of her expecting to see nothing, but she was wrong.

A woman stood in the doorway. For a great spirit, she wore very humane clothing. A midnight blue jerkin with a v-neck over a loose, dirtied white shirt, and black trousers tucked into leather boots. A belt strapped an empty sheath to her thigh.

She held the missing dagger in her hand, the sharp point held level with the Scion's chest. Dark red tainted the edges, and that wasn't the only sign of battle. Blood splattered across her clothing, and she bore a few nicks on her soil-dark skin. Strands of black hair escaped their tight braid.

A scream cut through the air, followed by a howl that raised the hairs on the back of Ash's neck.

"So, you brought your entire hoard of unnatural freaks," the Scion sneered, but for a heartbeat, something besides disgust and annoyance occupied her eyes. Just for the briefest moment, fear squirmed to the surface.

The nightwrath's expression didn't change. "I told you to release the girl."

Another cry from outside. Ash's breaths came out short and shallow. What could a greater spirit associated with torment want with her? Didn't they serve the gods, just like the Scions? The world spun. A crash shook free a few wood chips from the ceiling. What on Somniox was happening?

"You don't give me orders, Nightwrath." The Scion's hand twitched, and Ash cried out. The burning magic snaked its way up her leg so that the entire limb felt like it had caught on fire.

The nightwrath barked something—words lost in Ash's pain-hazed mind—but she was cut off as the Scion flicked her other hand. An orange orb flew through the air. The nightwrath swiped at the magic with her dagger. The ball burst into hundreds of specks that blinked out of existence.

"Lunisium," the Scion spat. She recoiled and leaned away, but the bed barred her from going any further. "You dare use the accursed metal. How—"

The pain vanished, leaving Ash huffing, as the Scion released the magic to focus on dodging. The nightwrath's foot hit the ground inches from Ash's head, and then she danced to the side, chasing the Scion.

"Get out of here!" The nightwrath took a step back, brushing against the wall as she twisted to bat away another magical orb.

Questioned stampeded through Ash's mind, but the burning pain scorched a path through her memories. Ignoring the mess of fear and confusion thundering within her, Ash scrambled to her feet and rushed to the door. She slammed it shut behind her, leaving behind the battle only to find herself in a new type of chaos.

*****

Welp, you get to see where the title comes from!  This "nightwrath" person has appeared.  What are your thoughts on her, and what do you think her goal is?  Maybe Ash has finally caught a break and had something good happen!

Let me know your thoughts on the chapter down below, and if you enjoyed it, don't forget to vote and comment! I also have a discord open to anyone who wants to join, and we have a section there to discuss the book :D Let me know if you want to join!