For hours Seiren lay with her face pressed flat against the blissfully cold stone ground. Her back began to numb and she was aware of the ropes digging into her wrists and ankles. Water trickled endlessly from some hole. Guards paced every so often, sharp spears glinting in the tiny streaks of light peeping through the gaps in the walls. Hynn watched her in silence.

Madeleine. Without a voice of reason in her head or the reassuring presence of her sister, Seiren was at a loss, the darkness eating away at any coherent thought and the pain devouring logic. Flash magic itched at her fingertips, but she knew the moment she tried to blow anything up, Hanna would declare war on Karma — plus she was in no fit state to even sit up, let alone stand and fight. Gulmore was so confident Soleus — another Daemonium member? — could extract information from the insurgents, the declaration was as good as announced.

Seiren closed her eyes, focusing on the ebb and flow of the magic in her core, the only constant in the world of madness right then. The pain eventually dulled to a distant hum and, as long as she lay still, she had peace.

When she next opened her eyes again, Hynn crouched before her. She tapped Seiren's elbow and gestured. Seiren stared. Hynn gestured again, hands flying before her, making various shapes, but Seiren couldn't understand what she wanted to say. For some reason, Hynn's hands weren't tied.

"I don't understand," she said loudly, shaking her head against the ground. "No... Understand."

Hynn sighed and rolled her eyes with a sassy exasperation Seiren didn't expect from her. Snorting, Seiren turned to face the other side, grateful to not feel knives dragging through the muscles in her back. The tingling, electrified feeling was still there. Seiren waggled her fingers before her face, watching the tiny trail of smoke floating from each fingertip and dissolving in the air. Tentatively, she pushed herself up onto all fours, wincing not from the deep gouges in her back from Cazadia's assault, but from stiff, unused muscles. Frowning, she pulled her shoulders back. No pain, just a deep ache as if she'd taken a battering, but not sustained life-threatening wounds.

Hynn suddenly crawled forward and grabbed Seiren's hands. Seiren yelped and almost fell backwards. Those huge brown eyes stared into hers.

"What?!" Seiren demanded. "What do you want?"

...hear me?

Seiren stared, stunned. A presence spoke in her head, one she had never heard before. Young. Hoarse. Quiet.

You can hear me now, right?

"Y-yeah," Seiren said, blinking. "Who—?"

You can speak in your head. Try.

She didn't need to be told twice.

Who is this?

Me. Hynn. Duh. As if to prove her point, Hynn released one hand and waved right in Seiren's face.

You can talk?!

Well, if you call this talking. We can communicate, at least.

How...?

Daemons. You're a summoner too, right?

No. Seiren shook her head. I have... summoning potentials, I think? But all I can do is make smoke come out of my fingers. So how is this—Seiren gestured at the two of them—happening right now?

My daemon speaks to yours. I speak through Castiel.

Castiel?!

From the top of Hynn's robe, a head poked out, followed by the rest of its body, wrapping around Hynn's neck. It was the length of Seiren's arm and thin. What a tiny daemon.

He heard that, Hynn said with a giggle.

So after all this time, we could have just done this instead of you flailing your arms at me.

All this time, you could have either shown me you were a summoner or took time to try and understand my body language, Hynn said with some irritability. Seiren raised her eyebrows. Hynn was short and skinny, little older than fifteen or sixteen, but her attitude was anything but small. And it's not 'flailing my arms', it's the official Hannan Sign Language. Just because you don't understand it doesn't make it stupid. And yelling at me, stretching out your words, does not make it any more understandable. If anything, it just makes the mouth movements weirder. And it's incredibly rude. I'm deaf, not dumb.

Fine. Whatever. Seiren glared at the guard as he made his next pace around the cells.

I'm grateful you didn't give up our names when that demonic witch... you know.

Demonic witch sounds about right. Seiren spun around. Blood had solidified, caking the back of her split robe. Did you heal me? How?

I was going to ask you that. I didn't do anything. You just... healed. It should be impossible. People die with injuries like yours, but my eyes don't deceive me.

Seiren blinked at her. Hynn shrugged and widened her eyes, as if waiting for an explanation.

I haven't... whatever. How do we get out of here, then?

They have Kaim. They're going to torture him for information and kill him. Hynn's voice was heavy with worry. We need to rescue him.

I don't trust him further than I can spit. He blew up the dining hall. He could have killed me and Mad—me and Takara.

He waited until you two were far away before picking the right moment. Kaim leads the opposition to Fautos Tophalis's tyranny. We need him, otherwise Hanna is doomed.

Seiren fought not to roll her eyes at the drama. She couldn't care less if Hanna fell.

Castiel heard that, too. You know, you should learn to make your internal voice more private.

Seiren scowled in the darkness. It had been a while since she had a voice in her head and the reflex to block off her private thoughts had gone rusty.

The guards aren't summoners. Castiel can knock them out, but we need a way of getting out from behind these bars.

I can deal with that if you deal with the guards.

Yeah? Hynn smiled.

Just one thing.

Hynn waited.

The... method you see me use to get out of here, and the healing — you mustn't tell anybody about it. We got out. We found a way. That's all you say.

How about a deal, then? You get Kaim and me out of here with whatever miracle you decide to use, and I stay quiet about it.

My sister is coming too.

Deal.

Hynn released her clutch on Seiren and her presence in Seiren's mind disappeared. With long, deft fingers, Hynn untied the impossibly tight knot binding Seiren's wrists. Rubbing the raw flesh and wincing, Seiren then spread her hand around the cell, finding a large enough stone to act as her chalk. She waited until the next patrol passed before beginning her rune. Hynn's eyes widened but she made no remark about the rune Seiren created.

Seiren ensured the opening of the red rune, amped up with the sigils in the peripheral circle locks, aimed at the point where the far most bar met the stone wall.

"Ready?" Hynn said. For some reason, Seiren could understand her gestures a bit better now. It still took several seconds, but the movements were slower, the meaning clearer. Seiren nodded.

The footsteps of the next guard approached. Hynn pressed her back against the wall, crouching. Her daemon, Castiel, poised on the tip of her hand, coiled back. In the streak of sunlight, Seiren could see its rust-coloured surface, peppered with dark brown scales, and its round, egg-shaped head when viewed from the side.

The guard passed. Seiren couldn't see the strike. One moment Castiel was poised, the next moment he'd vanished. The guard yelped, clutching the back of his knee. The other guards heard the noise and came sprinting. Hynn scampered back. The struck guard had arched his back and began to seize, gurgling like he was choking.

"Now!" Hynn said, crouching behind Seiren. Seiren snapped her fingers and grabbed Hynn's back so they both turned away. An earth-shattering boom shook through the entire cell. Dust and tiny, loose fragments of stone sprayed onto their backs. Her ears ringing, Seiren stood up and spun around. The guards lay on the ground in pieces. A sizable chunk of the wall and the bars were missing. More dislodged fragments dropped down from the ceiling where a crack grew wider and wider.

Seiren grabbed Hynn's hand and they darted out.

Hynn appeared to know the way, taking the lead once they were out of the corridor leading from the cells. Seiren's legs were heavy with fatigue, but she forced them on. At least she wasn't hosing out of the lashes on her back now. The two girls squeezed into the tight spaces between pillars when they heard hurried footsteps, no doubt more guards to investigate the explosion Seiren had made. Hynn's hand was clammy but cool. Although they made contact again, she didn't have a presence in Seiren's mind like before. Hynn scampered ahead on several occasions to check the safety of the area, always silently calling Seiren forward without fail afterwards. Seiren continued to move forward through the dungeon maze, the chill seeping through her long robe, now stained with bodily fluids and underground water. She kept a constant eye on Hynn so that she wouldn't miss anything the other girl said. Eventually, the ground dried up but the area was no less bright. Hynn took Seiren through an archway and they were on the second floor of a two-storey chamber. Stone steps led down the side into the darkness below. An empty cage swung in the centre. The chamber was empty.

From not too far away, a scream echoed, raw and agonised, making goosebumps raise on Seiren's skin. Hynn tapped on her elbow to draw her attention.

"That's him," Hynn said. Kaim. Seiren could only hope Madeleine was nearby too. She didn't trust Hynn or Kaim not to run off once reunited, even if Hynn had gotten her this far. "Let's go."

Scuttling down the steps, they paused near the bottom. Down the dark corridor, a small flicker of light could be seen. They crept through, ensuring their footsteps made no sound.

"Still won't speak, Kaim?" A lighthearted voice, slightly similar to Rowan's in its lilt and humour, reached Seiren's ears, but the undertone sent shivers down her spine. This must be the man called Soleus that Gulmore mentioned, the one responsible for interrogation. "That's no worry. Maroni's venom can work very effectively without killing you. You would wish you'd spilt your guts long before it works its way around... shall we begin, then?"

Hynn tapped Seiren's elbow again.

"Be careful. He's—"

Seiren didn't catch Hynn's next word. She spread her hands questioningly at Hynn, gesturing for her to repeat that last sentence. Hynn repeated it, but Seiren missed it again.

"Dangerous," Hynn finally said. As Seiren's eyes adjusted to the light in the next chamber, she spotted the man who spoke. Tall, broad-shouldered and muscular, a man maybe ten years older, wearing the dark robes of the Daemonium, stood at the top of the stone steps. A daemon, the same height as him with round shoulders, black scales covering the top half of its body, and a white belly. A forked tongue lashed out and struck Kaim, who swung within the metal cage suspended in the centre. He screamed and stumbled back, making the cage swing even more wildly.

"How does Maroni's venom feel, Kaim?" Soleus said. "Isn't she remarkable? Do you feel the fire coursing through your blood vessels? Your heart straining as each beat weakens?"

Kaim breathed heavily, trembling hands clutching the flat metal bars of his cage against which he slumped. Hynn clutched Seiren's elbow, her own hands shaking. There was no way Seiren could fight against the Daemonium; Kommora had made that clear. Seiren turned to Hynn and held out a hand — wait. They could only wait until Soleus left the room before having a chance to rescue Kaim and find Madeleine.

Seiren wasn't sure how long they squatted in the dark. She had no chalk and if she used rock, the scratches would be heard. They managed to find a small alcove in the wall and squeezed into it, waiting for Soleus to stop talking, for Kaim to stop screaming. Hynn shook beside Seiren, beside herself with worry. They couldn't see what Soleus was doing but heard every lash of his daemon's tongue and the effect of its venom settling into Kaim. Every minute, Seiren expected Kaim to give in to the pain and spill secrets, but all he gave were screams.

"Soleus," a young boy spoke, several hours later.

"What is it?" grunted Soleus. The prolonged interrogation had worn away at his lighthearted facade. "I'm busy."

"His Holiness requires your presence."

"Cazadia's free, isn't she? Get her to do it."

"This is about the Karman mage."

Seiren's heart stopped. She stared at the stone wall in front of her, her breath hitched at her throat.

"Then that's Oerse's business. Not mine."

"His Holiness needs you to confirm some truths from her."

There was a pause.

"Huh."

Their footsteps disappeared. Hynn waited for another few minutes before prodding at Seiren. Seiren stared at her, numb. The Karman mage. They must mean Madeleine. They were going to interrogate her now and it would be impossible to get to her in time without being discovered. Madeleine's body was still recovering from being transplanted and she was no soldier or warrior. There was no way she could hold out the way Kaim did without giving in to the injuries.

Hynn slipped out from beside Seiren and hurried up to the cage.

"Hynn!" Kaim's voice was hoarse. "You got out — but how?"

Silence. Hynn must be speaking with her hands.

"The key — Soleus Luddas has it — is there any way...?"

More silence. Hynn reappeared at Seiren's side, tugging at her.

"I need you!" she said with one hand, the other yanking at Seiren's stiff elbow. "Use your—!"

Seiren stared up at Kaim.

"The guards will be back soon, now that Soleus has left! If you do it quick, now, we can rescue your sister — Takara, right?"

"They've just gone to torture her, haven't they?" Seiren said quietly.

"What?" Kaim stared. "No — oh, she's a mage? No, not her. The Karman mage they took — she's a forty or fifty-year-old woman. Not a kid."

"Then where's Madeleine?" Seiren said, frowning, hope beginning to raise its head inside her.

"The next chamber. They haven't started on her yet, but there are a lot of guards. You get me out, I'll get her out — and we'll all get out of here before the Daemonium finds out."

Hynn gave Seiren a nod.

"Okay, fine," Seiren said. "Step back."

She flapped her hand at Hynn. Hynn rolled her eyes and moved to the back of the chamber. Kaim pressed himself to the back of the cylindrical cage. Seiren had practised aiming during her time in Teirrin — nobody cared if she mis-aimed her explosions and struck one rotten building instead of its neighbour in the wastelands. She stared at the bottom of the cage, where a heavy lock hung, and raised her hand.

Desperation and anger at Kristen flared inside Seiren. A surge of energy rose from her core, streaking down her arms. Light glowed at her fingertips. She snapped her fingers. There was a hiss. The lock glowed white — and shattered.

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