“They’re running towards the blast site,” Cassandra said. Her frown deepened. “They’re looking for you. Someone’s … someone’s behind them, hunting them … It’s hard to see who it is, it’s hard to … a Remnant. It’s a Remnant.”

“Vex,” Valkyrie said. “He’s chasing them right into Darquesse’s hands. We need to go. I have to …”

She trailed off as an idea came to her, and the full weight of what she had to do made itself known. It dragged at her soul, leaving her empty inside.

“Val?” Tanith said.

Valkyrie turned to China. “The gauntlet,” she said. “The Deathtouch Gauntlet. I left it in the Ops Room. Get it for me. Please. I have to go back to the Medical Wing.”

Tanith gripped Valkyrie’s arm, as if she were afraid she might collapse. “What’s wrong? Are you OK?”

“I’m fine,” Valkyrie insisted, disentangling herself. “I have to get something. I’ll meet you back in the Ops Room.” She ran, retracing her steps, holding her side as it began to ache dully. When she re-entered the Medical Wing, the staff were too busy to notice her, so she searched without being seen, found what she was looking for and pocketed it. A wail of pain caught her attention and she looked over. A woman having a broken bone reset. Nasty. But behind that woman, someone moving, someone slipping out of one of the smaller doors. Ravel.

She didn’t have time for this. She really didn’t. But she went after him anyway.

The moment the door shut behind her, the sounds of the Medical Wing dimmed to almost nothing. Valkyrie followed the corridor into a part of the Sanctuary she wasn’t familiar with. She passed libraries with bookcases that stretched to the ceiling. She passed a room of swords, and another of masks, and another of glass cases containing old, wrinkled body parts suspended in solution.

She saw a flickering orange light on the walls, and she turned very, very slowly.

Ravel stood, leaning against the wall. His right hand, level with her belly, glowed with energy. He looked tired.

“What are you doing?” he asked. He sounded weary. “Don’t you have enough to be worrying about without coming after me? I’m not a threat to you.”

“You’re a prisoner.”

He shook his head. “Not any more. I thought I’d be OK with it. When I made my plans, all that time ago, I knew I’d end up either dead or in shackles. I’d made my peace with that. But after what Darquesse did to me … you have no idea what it was like.”

“So you’ve said.”

“I’m leaving, Valkyrie. You’ll never see me again. I’m going to spend the rest of my life alone. That’s enough punishment, isn’t it? Exile?”