"Well then," Seishan said, tilting her head. "Out with it. What does the Preacher want from me today?"
"To keep an eye out," Sasrir replied evenly, "if any of these three people are spotted in the City, the Labyrinth, or the Castle."
He listed them without pause.
"A blind blonde woman.
A short man with black hair and black eyes.
And a woman with silver hair and grey eyes."
Seishan's expression tightened as she processed the descriptions. Her gaze narrowed, fingers curling subtly against one another. Then she snagged on the last detail.
"Silver hair and grey eyes?" she repeated.
"Yes," Sasrir said. "And a pretty face."
The shift was immediate.
Seishan's smile vanished. The teasing ease drained from her posture as she stepped closer, closing the distance between them. Sasrir was only slightly taller than her, and she looked up into the place where she knew his eyes resided beneath the veil of shadow.
Her voice, when she spoke again, was cold and precise.
"And tell me, Sasrir," she said quietly, "what would Adam want with the last of the Immortal Flame Clan?"
Sasrir held her gaze without falter or hesitation.
"What's it to you?"
Seishan's ruby lips curved upward into an intoxicating smile as she disengaged from their silent contest and took a step back. The tension did not leave—she merely chose to wear it more elegantly.
"Sasrir," she said lightly, "it is true that Adam and I have known each other for two years now, and that we have helped one another more times than I can count. I appreciate his actions and his endeavors—both within the Castle and beyond it. Believe me, I wished to cull the abuse of the Hunters and the Guards as much as he did."
Her smile softened, briefly sincere.
"But my priority has always been my sisters. That could not change."
She gestured vaguely toward the surrounding corridors. "Still, thanks to you and him, the people live better lives. Not good lives—merely the lives they should have been living all along."
"Yet," Sasrir said flatly.
The word cut cleanly through the air.
Seishan's expression sharpened.
"I may find Adam admirable," she continued, voice now edged with steel. "I may find him endearing. I may even find him cute." Her eyes narrowed. "But I also know he is a man capable of as much cruelty and ruin as he is benevolence and charity."
"Have you eaten something strange, Seishan?" Sasrir interrupted, any lingering warmth drained from his tone. This, at least, felt familiar. "With all this rambling and your sudden declarations, I'm starting to think I should take you to Kido for a medical examination. It isn't that time of the month for you, is it?"
Seishan wrinkled her nose in open disdain at the crude deflection, but she did not retreat.
"Do not try to hide from this, Sasrir," she said coldly. "Tell me what you and Adam are really planning to do with Nephis."
Silence fell.
For a brief moment, Seishan expected him to simply dissolve into shadow and vanish, as he had done countless times before. Instead, Sasrir slowly unfolded his arms.
"Can I trust you?"
The question struck harder than any insult.
Seishan froze, eyes flickering as thoughts and calculations raced behind them. Possibilities stacked atop one another, risks weighed against necessity. Five seconds passed.
Then she answered.
"If not me," she said evenly, "then who else?"
It was not empty confidence. Who had misled Gunlaug and Harus for months without being discovered? Who had fed Adam information from within the Castle? Who had quietly protected the Outer Settlement and Adam's followers while Gunlaug had him detained?
Sasrir studied her for a long moment.
Finally, he spoke.
"Adam believes the Immortal Flame is the key to finally taking the Crimson Spire," he said. "But he does not trust Gunlaug not to do something stupid when she appears."
Seishan's eyes darkened.
"The Bright Lord has given up on ever returning," Sasrir continued. "He is content to play king among rubble and corpses. But Nephis threatens that stability. She will need an army to assault the Crimson Spire."
He paused.
"Gunlaug's army."
"You speak as if you have already seen it," Seishan said, frowning.
Sasrir did not respond.
Instinctively, she heightened her senses—listening for changes in his breathing, the rhythm of a heartbeat, the subtle shifts of blood beneath skin.
She found nothing.
It was the same every time. Sasrir was a void where a living body should have been, a black hole that swallowed perception itself. As though he had no organs at all—or none that functioned in any way she could comprehend.
And that, more than his words, unsettled her.
"Fine," Seishan said at last.
The word fell into the silence like a stone into deep water. She had stood motionless for several heartbeats, eyes unfocused, posture relaxed yet coiled—silent contemplation masking the rapid calculus unfolding beneath. When she spoke again, her voice was level, stripped of teasing and pretense alike.
"Tell me what you have planned," she continued, lifting her gaze to Sasrir's shadow-veiled face, "in detail."
Sasrir did not answer immediately.
The corridor was empty, the stone walls old and scarred, carrying faint echoes of distant movement from the Castle's depths. Torchlight flickered weakly, casting elongated shadows that bent unnaturally toward Sasrir, as though acknowledging their master. He studied Seishan in silence, weighing her words, her posture, the subtle tension in her shoulders.
This was no casual concession.
Seishan did not agree lightly—not to Adam, not to anyone. The fact that she had asked for details rather than assurances was itself an answer.
"At present," Sasrir said finally, "the plan is incomplete."
Seishan's eyes narrowed slightly, but she did not interrupt.
"Adam is certain of three things," Sasrir continued. "First: the Crimson Spire cannot be taken by force alone. Too many have tried. Too many have failed. Even with every Sleeper in the Forgotten Shore going at full throttle, we cannot defeat both the Crimson Spire and the Dark Sea that way."
"Which is why you need the Lord Shards" Seishan filled in it blanks.
"Precisely."
"But you are missing two."
"Nephis has one already-she will acquire the last one for us too."
Second finger.
"Second: the Immortal Flame carries the Lineage of the Sun God-"
Seishan's eyes widened, "How did you-!"
"Don't interupt" Sasrir warned coldly, shutting her down before she could start. Seishan obediently swallowed her words and waited for him to continue, though inside, her thought process had shifted yet again.
"Nephis carries the Sun God's power just like the rest of her family. She is practically the antithesis of all Corrupted, and will be the most important piece in taking the Spire."
Third.
"And third: Nephis herself will not submit to Gunlaug. Not now. Not ever."
Seishan exhaled softly through her nose. "That much is obvious. I have never met her, but if she has inherited the qualities of either her mother or father, then Changing Star will never bend."
"Which is why," Sasrir went on, "Adam intends to remove Gunlaug from the equation before Nephis ever has to deal with him directly."
That earned a reaction.
Seishan's brows rose by a fraction. "Remove," she echoed. "You mean depose."
"Adam means dismantle," Sasrir corrected calmly. "Gunlaug's authority rests on fear, monopoly of force, and control of supplies. None of those survive prolonged instability."
"You are describing a coup," Seishan said coolly.
"I am describing inevitability," Sasrir replied. "Gunlaug has already lost the future. He simply does not know it yet. And besides, I thought you entered this partnership two years ago knowing this day would come?"
Seishan folded her arms, expression thoughtful. "And Nephis?"
"She is the catalyst," Sasrir said. "Adam intends to prop her up as the figurehead. Before you ask why not me or him- Adam is well liked but lacks enough recognized power. I have power, but...well, I don't need to explain what most people think of me."
He elaborated without prompting.
"When Nephis arrives, Adam intends to ensure three outcomes. One: she is kept out of Gunlaug's immediate reach. Two: she is made aware of the true state of the Castle and the Spire. And three: she is presented with allies who will help her accomplish her goals."
Seishan's lips thinned. "You mean to shape her choices."
"We mean to limit Gunlaug's," Sasrir replied. "If Nephis is forced into a corner, she will burn her way out. That much is certain. The collateral would be catastrophic."
"And Adam believes he can…guide her?"
Sasrir paused.
"Adam believes," he said carefully, "that Nephis is not blind to suffering. Nor is she blind to opportunity. If presented with the truth, she will choose action."
Seishan was quiet for a long moment.
"You are gambling," she said eventually. "On Nephis' temperament, whom none of us have even met let alone heard of before today. On timing. On Gunlaug's reaction. On the assumption that the Castle does not tear itself apart in the meantime."
"Yes."
She looked at him sharply. "You speak as if failure is acceptable."
"We win either way " Sasrir said. "Either Nephis overthrows Gunluag and leads the Sleeper Army home, or Gunlaug wins and is forced to march on the Spire anyways to quell remaining dissidents. There will be blood: the only question is where it spills, and who controls the aftermath."
Seishan closed her eyes briefly. In her mind, she saw fire climbing a crimson tower. Saw armies breaking. Saw sisters she could not afford to lose.
When she opened her eyes again, they were cold and resolute.
"And what," she asked, "is my role in all this?"
Sasrir inclined his head slightly.
"You are insurance," he said. "Against Nephis being eliminated too early. Against Adam misjudging her. Against Gunlaug acting faster than anticipated."
Seishan gave a short, humorless laugh. "You make it sound so flattering."
Seishan gave a short, humorless laugh. "You make it sound so flattering."
"You are the only one here," Sasrir said evenly, "who can speak to Nephis without chains attached: you are both from powerful Legacy Clans. And the only one Gunlaug cannot afford to move against openly."
That, at least, was true.
Seishan was silent again, then nodded once.
"Very well," she said. "I will watch. I will intervene if necessary. And I will not betray you."
Her gaze sharpened.
"But understand this, Sasrir. If Adam's plan turns Nephis into nothing more than another sacrificial piece—if he pushes her toward ruin for the sake of his grand design—then I will not merely withdraw my support."
She stepped closer, her voice dropping.
"I will oppose him."
The shadows around Sasrir stirred.
"I would expect nothing less," he said.