The stairwell was dark. The lights flickered. There were none of Viviana’s ants here, though the air was still thick with the soft droning of insects on all sides. I didn’t really want to go forward. I wanted to talk to Joy. I wanted to understand better. I wanted to see that she... that...

“Quinn!” The voice was faint, a metallic echo from the floors above. They pushed me onward, pushed me to cast those worries out of my mind. I couldn’t.

But Angelina prodded me forward. “Come on.”

“Why was she... why did he ask me to go so far?”

“You already know the answer, don’t you?” Angelina said. She put her hand on my back as I started up the stairs, following me closely all the while. “You understand.”

Did I? “She... I didn’t realize that she idolized me like that. That she expected so much. I didn’t realize that she held all these prophecies in such high regard.”

“She knew who you were prophesied to be, Quinn. And she pushed you to reach it.”

“Why, though?” She’d seemed nearly relieved when she managed to push me over the edge like that. She’d seemed happy when I cracked through the shell of her exoskeleton and shattered her Imago. She hadn’t put up as much resistance as I’d expected, having seen her in action before. Had she been holding back? Or had her own desires betrayed her own resolve?

“She wanted to see you do it,” said Libellula.

“To test me?”

“To test herself,” said Angelina. “Because she believed in you. She wanted to see you succeed.” Angelina chuckled. “How cute. But also a waste of time.”

“I don’t really feel like laughing.”

“Why not? You didn’t do anything wrong. She’ll be fine.”

“It’s not that. It’s...”

Angelina stopped walking and turned to face me. “What is it, Quinn? Tell me. What is troubling you so much?”

“I’m a little scared of myself.”

“It’s a little late for that, isn’t it? You’re fulfilling your destiny. You’ll have to do far more than that.”

There it was again. That phrase. Why did it trouble me? Perhaps I just didn’t want to admit it. If I wanted to fit into this grand destiny, to take hold of my place in this grand story, then of course I’d have to... I’d have to... “What will I have to do?”

At that, Angelina’s smile vanished. “It might be best not to think about that.”

“Don’t treat me like a kid.”

She picked up the pace. “You are a kid, Quinn. You are going to do great things. I want to encourage you. And so it might not be wise to share.” She sighed. “But... well, I suppose... no. Never mind that.”

“Angelina!”

“I don’t love rules, Quinn. But some exist for a good reason... just keep your eyes on the prize and maybe we can keep the amount of genocide at a minimum.”

“Geno—”

“I’m joking, kiddo. Just a joke.” I wasn’t laughing.

We came to the door to the next floor. The calls were still coming from behind it. Louder. More panicked. There was no time to waste.

I opened the door, and everything was quiet.

In the hallway were three familiar figures: First was Grace, her Imago again ghostly-pale and translucent. She held her syringe out, but dropped it to her side as she turned to glance over at me. Next to her was Melody, her fuzzy, golden-yellow and black Imago on full display. Her smoke-gray wings trailed her movements as she held her serrated sword aloft. Though her arms were trembling, she gripped the handle tightly. Liquid dripped down the blade, though I couldn’t tell what it was. And last must have been Faith, with her burnt orange Imago and shining black wings. She immediately turned at the sound of the door opening.

Surrounding them on all sides were a mass of insects, though again none of Viviana’s ants were among them. And littering the ground were endless husks. A lot of Imagos, broken. And among them, chrysalises and scattered limbs, and stains of hemolymph.

“Quinn,” said Faith, rushing to my side. “You’re here. And... with you...”

“Angelina,” said Grace. She and Melody both nodded in acknowledgement.

“Guess you already know who I am,” said Angelina.

“I love how you look,” said Faith. She ran her exoskeletal fingers up and down my new Imago. She looked up at me. “You changed.”

And for the first time, I really saw her. Maybe it was from seeing her Imago for the first time. I finally understood. She wasn’t Carmen. She never could be. For as much as Carmen’s Imago had been beautiful with its bright yellow-and-black wings, decorated with splashes of fiery red and blue, Faith’s own Imago was undeniably beautiful as well. The body carapace was made of form-fitting orange plates, growing steadily brighter down the arms and legs to gauntlets that were the colour of golden flames. The burnt orange was complemented by a smoky-brown visor, vest, and belt that gave her a serious, almost military feel. And all that was drawn together beneath those black wings, flowing like a cape behind her with a subtle, though undeniable, sheen. Above all, though, she was comfortable. While Carmen had seemed clumsy in her Imago, Faith fit hers perfectly. She stood relaxed, two hands on her hips while the other two continued to examine my new form.

“You’ve changed, too,” I finally said. “Sorry for not noticing sooner, Faith.”

She looked up at me and, though her Imago had no lips, I could tell she was smiling. “It’s what Carmen would have wanted.”

I simply nodded. It felt good to finally accept the truth. Melody and Grace turned fully towards me, walking gingerly over the shattered carapaces.

“You made it,” said Melody, lowering her blade at last and sliding it into the sheath

“Quinn,” said Grace,

“You didn’t drink any blood,” I said.

She shook her head. “I’m still scared about what might happen. Thankfully, Faith was really... she’s quite something. Melody was good too.” Grace, too, examined my Imago, grabbing my hand to examine the new carapace. “How did you change your form?” she asked. “Did you—”

“I made this body my own. Like my destiny. We’re going to move forward. We’re going to do this.” The hallway began to stir again. Insects skittered across the floor, collecting on the far side. Peeking out from behind the corners, I saw unfamiliar Imagos, plated figures in all colours and shapes and sizes. Staring at me. “What was... what happened here?” I asked.

“They attacked us,” said Melody.

“They?”

“Our sisters. Our fellow angels,” said Faith.

“Something came over them,” said Grace, shuddering. “They’ve been taken over. They’ve been lost.” The compound eyes peeking out were dark. Unreadable.

“But they stopped when you got here,” said Faith.

“Intriguing,” said Grace.

“It’s strange,” said Melody. “they just... stopped. They retreated.” Though now they were approaching again. More and more of them emerged down the hall, though they still remained calm. I noticed now that some were brandishing weapons, blades gleaming in the dim light.

“It’s not strange,” said Faith. She traced my palms with her clawed fingertips. “Quinn has accepted her destiny. She is... becoming fit to be a queen. And those taken over by the Chorus can hear that. They can feel it. They can sense it.” Faith turned to me. “You can take control of them, too.”

They were approaching. Closer now. Was that true? Could I take control of them? Should I? The figures walked naturally. They didn’t shamble. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have assumed they were completely normal. But they were coming to stop us. “Stop,” I muttered. No response. “Stop,” I said louder. They hesitated for the briefest moment before continuing their advance. “Stop,” I shouted.

They stopped. Now what?

“Let’s go,” said Angelina, leading the rest of us onward. We dashed down the hallway, past the other Angels, all still frozen like statues. After a few seconds, though, they began to stir again. Move again.

“Stop.” I commanded again, and they froze. But more quickly, they began to move again, taking chase. Speeding up. “They aren’t listening.”

“Enough talking. Just run,” said Angelina.

“Stop! Stop!” I shouted. But now my words seemed powerless. Had I just been imagining things? Had Faith been wrong? The insects beneath our feet stirred, waves swarming to oppose us, pushing us back with each step forward. The Angels behind us were closing in, thrumming wings and blades moving in unison. The first strikes nipped at my feet. We needed to get out of here. The classroom was just a little further...

And a second group of Angels was already standing there. “Get out of the way!” I tried commanding, and though they took a step away from the door, they quickly turned back. Was there something overriding my commands? Was there someone else in control?

“Come on,” said Angelina. “Come on, come on.” There were too many of them to fight. They were all tangled up together, a single united mass of limbs and weapons, filling up the hallways and barring our ways. The two groups chased us back and forth through the hallways. We couldn’t shake them. I felt my arms and legs and wings tiring, and I could tell that the others were getting the same. Grace in particular was slowing; she had no wings at all to speak of. We had to find... there had to be another way...

This was it. They were closing on both sides. We’d gotten a sizable lead, but it was pointless. Foolishly, I’d run us into a dead end. Ahead was only the solid rock walls. Melody turned and unsheathed her sword. Grace readied her weapon. Faith drew her long, slender blade as well. I supposed we had no option but to fight. So I drew my weapon. The long, sharp spear materialized in my hand.

And then I heard a crack. From behind? I turned. The wall was cracked? The stone? How? I drew the blade and stabbed it straight at the wall, bracing myself for the force of impact. But it never came. Instead, the blade went clean through the ‘stone’ all the way to the hilt. I dragged the blade through the wall, carving out a circle. And then the wall fell out.

It was made of wood.

We just stared in shock. What was going on? Was it all wood? Or was it just this part? How much of... what exactly was Sanctuary 1?

But Angelina brought us back to reality. “I don’t know about you, but I’m getting in this hole,” she said, crawling into the opening and disappearing into the other side. Hearing the footsteps approaching, one by one we all passed through the gap and emerged into... well...

It was an enormous cavern. Like the space that I’d gone into with Sarah, but far, far, larger. Or at least, it seemed larger. It was impossible to tell just how large it was from here. Darkness seemed to stretch out in all directions. Besides the light spilling out from the hallway, and a pinprick off in the distance, there was no other source of illumination. Despite that, we were standing on some sort of platform. A path? But who would have been using paths like these?

“Over there,” said Angelina, pointing to the pinprick of light. In absolute darkness, it seemed brilliant. It must have been an exit. Or something else. And so we made it our destination. Angelina grabbed Grace, holding her with all four arms as she lifted her into the air. Faith and Melody followed on their own wings. After a few moments to ensure they were all in working order, my own wings thrummed to life and I set out towards the source of light as well.

I still wondered who had been using these paths? How far did they span? One name immediately popped to mind. Thea. Thea had been in the walls, right. Was this where Thea had been hiding, this whole time? Had it been so simple? Actually, where was Thea? She’d gone awfully silent a while back. Something. Something was...

“We made it,” said Melody, interrupting my train of thought. She reached a hand down from the light and pulled me up into the desert night.