They made it halfway to town before the rescue party found them.
"GRACE!"
Alia's voice cut through the desert heat.
"ARE YOU—oh my god what the FUCK?"
Three shapes dropped from the sky like angry pigeons. Alia, Zephyr, and Valkyrie landed in a cloud of dust and immediately froze.
Grace stood there, covered in ash and sweat, holding Seraph's severed head.
"Hey," Seraph's head said casually.
Alia screamed.
"IT TALKS!"
"Of course I talk, you dumb angel," Seraph sounded offended. "I'm not dead, you know."
"BUT YOUR HEAD—"
"Is temporarily disconnected from my body, yes. Very observant."
Zephyr circled them slowly, eyes so wide Grace could see the whites all around. Valkyrie just stood there with her mouth hanging open like she'd been hit with a stick.
"Seraph," Valkyrie said finally. "The strongest warrior in heaven after Celestia. Got decapitated?"
"It happens."
"IT DOES NOT!"
