Part of Gabriel felt as if he should be more concerned for China Sorrows. He had felt her mind crack beneath the weight of his identity, and she wasn't technically damned, which meant she wasn't damned, and all other times he had considered that worthy enough of being concerned.

But that was before he could choose to like someone or not. Before Ms Sorrows had done everything in her power to perform actions which were the equivalent of damning, but not quite falling yet. Before she'd tried to steal his love and now his self.

For a long moment Gabriel's unreadable gaze was focussed on Skulduggery and the writhe of darkness in the depths of his soul. No, he wasn't concerned for China. But he was concerned for Skul, even as he was touched by Skul's concern for him. "Skul," he said with a slight smile, his voice full of humour--a reminder, a potential anchor, for the detective to clutch. "Breathe. I think you're about to start hyperventilating."

See, Skul? He was fine. Perfectly fine.

To give the detective the chance to regain control Gabe picked up the deck, turning to the others around them and giving them a faint but reassuring smile. "I'm okay," he said. "Really. She's even more foolish than I thought she was, but I'm okay. There's no way what she just tried could hurt me."

He glanced back to Skul. "Are you ready?" A beat, for the detective's emotions to lock down. "She was preparing to use my true name. As I said, stupid. That kind of thing only opened her to everything that I am, and to be perfectly frank, the human mind isn't capable of comprehending that. I'm honestly not sure what condition she'll be in when she wakes up, but if she's still sane, she's not going to be happy about it. Ghastly--" The Archangel turned suddenly to the tailor. "I don't suppose you could put her on the couch for me? It's more comfortable than the floor."