“The Herald?” Her eyes widened. “Why?”
“I don’t know! They’ve decided he’s not truly from Erlik, but that’s all Elder Nelson would tell me.” I hiccuped. “Why is he not free yet? He’s strong enough. Why hasn’t he gotten free?” I was terrified to learn the answer to that question. “What am I going to do, Silence?
Silence stared at me, mouth open. “Are you in love with him?”
I recoiled. “No, not at all.” I couldn’t have someone know my secret. I was already in enough trouble.
But she smiled, and I knew I’d done a poor job at lying. “Who wouldn’t fall in love with someone like him, even if he is a Herald? Don’t fret. I shan’t tell anyone.”
How did I get here? Sobbing in the prayer closet while Silence of all people is comforting me about falling in love?
“Is there any way you can get me out of here?”
Silence blanched. “Lilith,” she whispered. “I can’t do that.”
Rage nearly blinded me. These people. These fucking people. They’d made Eve flee her home in fear of marrying the reverend. They’d made Silence shrink into herself. They made me eager to please and bury any misgivings deep. All three of us had learned not to fight, for it would only make things worse. So we’d survived any way we could, even if it pitted us against one another. These women could’ve been my friends in another life.
“I understand.” I nodded. Asking Silence to let me out would likely get us both a public flogging.
“Besides, the keys are at Mrs. Dalton’s hip. There’s no way I could get them,” Silence continued.
“Can you…can you at least find out what happened to Castiel?” I pleaded. “I will do anything for you. Anything, if you can find out and let me know. I need to know he’s alive. I can’t—” My voice broke. I swallowed one, twice, thrice, until I could steady my voice again. “I can’t bear not knowing.”
Silence studied me for a moment. “All this for a Herald?”
“A seraph,” I corrected, wiping the tears from my face.
“Is that the real name for the angels?” Silence whispered.
“They call themselves seraphim,” I explained. “They’re not messengers of Erlik. They’re people like us, just caught in the wrong world.” I rubbed my temple, trying to condense the last fortnight into a few sentences. “I was acting as his guide around the community because he was doing a terrible job pretending. He couldn’t quote a single psalm.”
Silence exhaled, still coming to terms with it was all a lie. “But then why…”
“They’re trying to find a way home,” I quickly explained. “Castiel thinks another one of their kind fell through a crack in the sky several hundred years ago, and I said there was a book in Reverend Grimshaw’s study about it. That’s why he came here. The book said something about the Hawkstone Coven, but I don’t know if that even exists anymore.”
“Eve sent him?” Her voice wavered, and I remembered she was friends with Eve. “She is well?”
“I think so.” My hands balled into fists, helpless and anxious energy coursing through me. I wanted to do something. “There’s a stained glass window at Eve’s new home and it started this whole mess.”
“Is she happy?” Silence’s tone was wistful.
“Yes,” I said after a pause. “She looked happier than I’d ever seen her, trapped in that dreary house on the moors.”
For a moment, all I could hear was her breathing. “How was Castiel taken and you sent to the prayer closet?” she finally asked.
Crouching low, I pressed my cheek to the wooden floor so I could see Silence huddled on the other side, tray sitting beside her. I explained, glossing over the details of saltwater and seraphim healing abilities.
She sighed, then nodded. Resolve shone on her face. “I will do what I can.”
I slumped against the door in relief. “Thank you. Thank you.” I closed my stinging eyes.
A soft scraping sound filled the tiny room, the sound of Silence sliding the tray in.
“When I return at midday I’ll try to bring you any news,” she promised.
“Thank you,” I repeated fervently. “This means everything to me.”
Silence
