Hæra’s tail swished beneath the water in sudden agitation. The wound hadn’t seemed deep, and Sister Madeleine had regained consciousness, but what did Hæra know about human health? Sister Madeleine might have been hurt worse than it seemed. Maybe that was why she hadn’t come back.

Great Mare, Hæra prayed as she swam closer to the dock, let her be well. Let the blood stop flowing. When the Last Current takes her, it shouldn’t be like this.

The man didn’t walk out on the dock. Instead, he went to the rocky stretch of shore where Hæra had dragged Sister Madeleine. He didn’t seem steady on his feet. Perplexed, Hæra watched as he stood at the edge of the water, looking over the sea. Then he called out, his voice reaching her through the rumble of the waves. “Show yourself, you bastard beast!” he yelled.

Hæra was so startled she nearly did show herself, sticking her head halfway out of the water before she pulled back down.

“She told me you were here. A bloody horse, she said! I knew you’d be back. Well, you fucked it last time, and you will this time too. You won’t get her. You didn’t get me.”

Impossible. It couldn’t be.

Hæra’s head whirled. The man was older, as humans went. Forty turns ago, Asgall had failed with his chosen human. This man would have been a young adult then. Could he be Asgall’s human? The idea beggared belief.

But she couldn’t imagine who else this could be. The man seemed to know who—or at least what—Hæra was. The man had referred to a past failure. In hundreds of turns, Asgall was the only one who’d failed the Stormhorse trial. The timing matched up.

By the depths, it must be true. This pitiful, shambling creature was Asgall’s human! That had to be why her brother had failed. Their chosen human prey was supposed to be noble, strong, and brave. Talk about an unworthy choice. Asgall must have been truly desperate.

It wasn’t the time to feel a pang of sympathy. Her brother didn’t deserve it.

“That nun thought you were an angel,” the man rambled. “Seemed likelier to her than what you are. And now I find you can change into a woman as well as a man? It bloody figures.”

That settled it. This was definitely Asgall’s human.

“Show yourself!” The man was screaming now. Good thing nobody was out this late and that human hearing was so poor. “I’m not afraid of you!”

He was alone. He was weak. And he knew—he must know—where Sister Madeleine was.