"Let me go!"

Dante dragged me away from the door. He breathed heavily through gritted teeth, and the scent of burning skin permeated the room. Still, he did not release me until he pushed me safely behind the counter and moved to block the exit.

"You cannot go out there."

"I have to," I wept, vision blurring as tears filled my eyes.

My heart spasmed and struggled to beat. It became hard to breathe. Yoko. She couldn't be gone. Not like this. Not with such terrible words between us. Not ever.

"As, listen to me," Dante said, gripping my hands in his. Small red dots peppered his skin where my starlight had burned him. "Going out there won't save her."

My knees gave out. Dante eased me to the floor and settled himself in front of me, prepared to do whatever was necessary to hold me together, but I didn't think he had that power. My skin felt too tight, like it was stretching to contain the misery that wanted to explode out of me. Outside, the wraiths wailed and railed against the house. Their hunger for our fresh blood and bones drove them into a frenzy. There was no way to get through them and survive.

"She went after me."

Dante could have lied to me. It would have been so easy to say that Yoko had fallen in a fight with a wraith, but he would not do her the injustice.

"She did. We stopped to make camp, expecting you to show up. Eventually, we backtracked, but there was no sign of you. Then the storm rolled in, and the fog grew too thick to see beyond a few feet. We agreed to keep making our way to Radia because we could follow the road, and we knew that's where you would head."

I nodded. Yoko always thought like a soldier. "I came directly here after I escaped the wraith's trap."

His eyebrows shot up. "A wraith trapped you?"

"It doesn't matter. It's dead now."

"Astreia–"

"Tell me where Yoko went."

Swallowing hard, he continued, "We knew something was wrong as soon as we reached the city. Daylight kept them back while we searched for you, but when the sun started to set, they woke. The mists returned. We made it into the apothecary, and I found the lavina powder. The wraiths swarmed this place all night. Neither of us slept, and in the morning, Yoko told me she had to go back to look for you. That you weren't here."

I wrapped my arms around my stomach and rocked. "How could she be so sure?"

"She said she didn't feel you here, and as soon as the sun rose the next morning, she left. The mists hadn't faded, and I watched her walk into them. That was yesterday morning."

"But...I stayed on the road. She should have found me. We should have run into one another."

"Unless..." He choked back a sob. "She didn't have starlight to protect her from them in the darkness."

"Why didn't you go with her?" I shouted, beating my fist against his shoulder. It was like striking a stone, but I welcomed the pain. Anything was better than the pain of my breaking heart.

"Because I told her I would stay here in case you showed up, and you did."

"No." I scrubbed at my face and stood on shaky legs. The blisters on my feet and ankles cracked and oozed. "She's not dead. I would know it. I have to go find her."

"Wait," he reached for me, but I blasted him with light.

Not enough to hurt him, but enough to blind him long enough for me to dart around him. Sitting still after moving constantly for so long had tightened my muscles. Agony echoed in every step.

"Astreia, don't!"

Ignoring his pleas, I wrenched open the door, my skin flush with light. Fetid breath washed over my face as a wraith surged forward, not noticing the light until it was too late. The others had hissed and recoiled. Just as I had with Lira, I shot a beam of silver at the creature, but unlike Lira, this wraith had no body, so instead of searing through the flesh, it pierced its shadowy form. For a second, it froze, then it turned to vapor and evaporated.

I held onto the door frame to remain upright as the last of my strength faded. The wraiths, sensing my weakness, rushed toward me. Dante pulled me back, slamming the door shut, but he wasn't fast enough. One of them slipped through, and it cackled as it buzzed around the room, though it was very careful to stay away from the bottles of lavina powder sitting on the counter.

"Are you okay?" Dante asked, cupping my chin. His fingers felt rough and dry against my clammy skin.

"I'm fine," I grunted, pushing against him to stand back up. "But that bastard isn't going to be."

"Such big words from the weakest queen," the wraith crooned.

It stayed near the ceiling, where all but its blood-red eyes blended into the darkness. It was more corporeal than the one I had killed. Larger, too. Which meant it had consumed more souls. That was probably why it could enter the building despite the lavina powder wards Dante had created.

"Come down here and see how weak I am."

"Perhaps it's best not to goad the wraith right now," Dante muttered behind me. His body anchored me in place.

The wraith moved about the ceiling. "I wasted away in the Grim for three centuries. I have patience and time, little queen. Two things which you do not have. Let us see who will win."

Head aching, I continued to lean against Dante, my eyes never leaving the monster above us. All I needed was a clear shot. Just one, and I could end him, but it had to be perfect because I did not think I had the strength for more than one.

"I wonder," the wraith said, circling the chandelier, "will you taste as delicious as the other girl? The one with the ocean eyes and rosebud lips."

Static filled my ears, and bile raced up my throat, spilling into my mouth. Dante tensed against me, and a green aura formed around him as he drew on his magic. I barely heard the wraith laugh as rage erased my aches and pains.

"Wait," Dante whispered, grabbing my hand as I aimed.

"If you don't let me go, I swear to the gods, I won't care if I take you down with it," I snarled.

"If you want to avenge Yoko, you'll wait just a damn minute," he replied in a growl equal to mine. It startled me enough to make me listen. "It's avoiding the lavina powder. If I can get to it and throw the powder into the ceiling, it should drive it down."

"And give me the shot I need," I whispered.

"Yes."

"It's not nice to have secrets," the wraith teased. It was close enough I could smell its foul odor.

"It's not nice to eat innocents, either," Dante shouted, bolting across the room and throwing himself over the counter. He snatched two bottles off the shelf, threw them into the air, and then, with flawless aim, busted the glass with green bolts of magic. Lavina powder exploded into the room, creating a purple haze in the rafters.

The wraith shrieked, dropping low just as we anticipated. I tracked its movement and stepped closer. Pain and panic distracted it from my approach. Drawing on every last bit of power I had in me, I threw up both hands. Light pooled brightly in my palms, and with a vision of Yoko's beautiful face in my mind, I let it loose. It arced across the room like a shooting star, painting everything in a sterling blaze before striking true.

I watched until its last particles disappeared before easing my body to the floor. Blinking away the spots in my vision, I pushed my fist into my mouth to stifle the sobs, but that only caused them to collect in my chest and throat, choking me. My teeth sank into my knuckles, and the coppery tang of blood coated my tongue.

The floorboards creaked. Dante sat down and pulled me into his lap. I went willingly, my hand falling away from my mouth, and the first wail bursting out of me in a stuttering cry. His hand made soothing circles on the small of my back, and he urged me to stop fighting it.

I shook my head, determined to hold myself together. Yoko would tell me to suck it up and carry on, and I might have managed it if not for the sudden splatter of something warm and wet on my forehead. Looking into Dante's face, I saw a dark streak down his cheek, which ended in tears dripping off his chin.

The dam inside me broke, and a keening howl pushed past my lips. I shook and moaned and pleaded to the gods to give her back. All the while, Dante held me until the first light of sunrise broke through the dirty windows. Only then did I piece myself back together enough to stop crying and rise to my feet.

When I walked to the door, he didn't protest. Instead, he pocketed a few vials of lavina powder and followed me into the gray daylight. From the shadows, eyes followed us, the intensity of their hunger almost tangible.

Even after we crossed through the city gates, I could feel them, but I refused to look back. They had taken everything from me, and I would not give them anything else. Right now, the only thing that mattered was getting to Vyta. Once the portal was relit, I would return, and I would raze this city–and every wraith in it–to the ground.