A Wicked Wind

Cas and Lo have the Wind-Witch to carry them beyond the Veil, along with the posh necromancer Nathan Ouvrard and a stabby mercenary who claims to work for the goddess of death. Cas even brought a magic staff to vanquish mortifexes.

It looks promising - until an ill-advised riddle contest kicks off a run of bad luck that just keeps getting worse.

Lo blames herself. She's caught in the Quickening, the end stage of a Shadow Soul, and forces greater than Magnus want her dead for good. With time running out, she and Cas must outfox the Fates themselves - or lose the people dearest to them both forever.

Back in Galatia, the embittered mortifex Lucius finds himself being gaslighted by an eleven-year-old girl. Is Beatriu a Machiavellian prodigy who murdered her five siblings to gain the throne, or simply a tragic victim? The answer matters, since Lucius himself is the dowry in a splashy wedding between Beatriu and Enrigo Redvayne.

Linking them all is the Grand Menotte, a weapon that blurs the line between life and death - and could tip both realms into utter chaos.