A Forsaken Prophecy

At the National House, a guilt-stricken Theo watches over a sleeping and shackled Nina. A maid slips him a note directing him to visit Patrick, and Theo goes to the laboratory where Patrick is imprisoned. Patrick confronts him with the brutal reality of the public whipping Nina is scheduled to endure, arguing that by taking away her choices, they will only make an enemy of her. Patrick then reveals his suspicion that Theo’s father will not honor his promises for a truce. He urges Theo to confront his father and “look for the lie” (95).

Shaken, Theo goes to his father’s quarters and questions him about Nina’s future and the promised distribution of resources to the working class. Lord Shop is dismissive, and when pressed, he admits his promises of reform are merely an “illusion” necessary to secure power. With Patrick’s warning confirmed, Theo realizes the entire plot was a lie.

Trapped and powerless in his cell, Patrick is overcome with guilt and desperation as the time for Nina’s whipping approaches. Just as he loses all hope, Theo enters with an Artisan robe and a plan to escape. Theo takes a vial of idium from Patrick and uses his command over water to make the guard choke on his drink and fall unconscious.

They flee through a series of servants’ passages, emerging outside onto a drive. There, they are met by a horseless wagon driven by Patrick’s father. John reveals he has elemental power over wood and, after taking a dose of idium, climbs into the driver’s seat. With Theo and Patrick hidden under a burlap sack, the three men set off to rescue Nina.

Nina awakens, disoriented and shackled, in a moving coach with Lord Shop. As the memory of her mother’s execution returns, Lord Shop informs her that she is to be publicly whipped for assassinating Lord Tanner. Suddenly, their coach is disabled when a wheel snaps. John appears and holds a knife to the driver’s throat while levitating a wooden stake above Lord Shop’s head.

Patrick pulls Nina from the coach, and they flee toward a busy dock. As they try to blend in, nearby police officers make crude remarks about Nina’s impending punishment. Enraged, Patrick attacks one of them, sparking a brawl. Just as more police arrive, Theo appears in the canal on a narrow boat, using his powers to flood the dock and create chaos. In the confusion, John grabs Nina and holds her at knifepoint to secure their escape onto the boat, which speeds away down the canal.

Aboard the getaway boat, Patrick furiously confronts his father for holding Nina hostage, punching him and warning both John and Theo never to touch her again. He then retreats into the cabin. That night, Nina asks Patrick to explain everything. He reveals Lord Shop’s plan to assassinate Lord Tanner, but Theo interjects to clarify an important detail: Patrick was told Theo would be the killer and never consented to Nina’s involvement. Theo confirms he passed the idium on to Nina without Patrick’s knowledge.

When Nina asks whether her mother’s death was planned, Patrick answers that he didn’t know while Theo’s silence confirms that he knew his father’s plan. Overcome with rage and grief, Nina attacks Theo. Patrick restrains her, acknowledging Theo’s culpability but explaining that Theo saved them all from the National House. Nina retreats to the deck, where John offers a gruff but sincere apology.

As the boat arrives in the city of Morland at dawn, Nina is feverish from her infected wounds. On deck, John tells her stories about Patrick’s childhood and seems unconcerned when Nina informs him that his wife believes he is dead. When Nina asks why they have come to Morland instead of returning to Kenton Hill, John cryptically replies, “Business first.”

They disembark into the chaotic city. Patrick stays close to Nina in the crowd but keeps a physical distance. They make their way through the narrow streets to a building with a red door and a sign that reads “THE MISTRESS.”

The group enters The Mistress and meets its proprietor, a man named Tamir, who is shocked to see the Colsons. Patrick reveals that the Miners Union owns the establishment and demands rooms. He’s annoyed to discover Tamir has turned his “quiet hotel” into a brothel. After Tamir procures clothes and guns, the group convenes. Patrick explains that Lord Shop’s plot was based on finding Idia’s Seam, a legendary source of terranium. John produces The Stewards’ Testament, which supposedly contains the location.

They are in Morland to find a Scribbler who can translate the book’s Verian Script. Nina asks if Patrick saved her only because he needs an earth Charmer to excavate the Seam. He doesn’t deny it and agrees their relationship is now “just business.” He insists she is free to leave, but fueled by a desire for revenge, Nina agrees to help, declaring she wants to personally bury the lords who wronged her.

That night, feverish from her infected wounds, Nina is visited by Patrick, who enters her room through an adjoining door. He gives her bluff to fight the infection and tends to her injuries. Nina recounts her seven years on the run and the trauma of her mother’s death. She apologizes for betraying him, admitting she was afraid of losing him.

Patrick asks if she ever told the House his name, which she vehemently denies. He tells her he believes her but explains that her lack of trust in him has created a boundary between them. He says his feelings for her are a “bigger weakness” that he can no longer afford. When she asks if he can forgive her, he replies that she is “already forgiven […] but it don’t fix much” (140). Despite the pain between them, he admits he does not regret meeting her. She and Patrick share a moment of intense, unspoken tension in the stairwell before joining the others to depart for Rickers, an Artisan club. Tamir gives Nina a disguise, which includes a wig and a revealing dress, so that she can blend in with Morland’s Artisans.

At Rickers, Theo recalls visiting the establishment with his father when he was a teenager. One of the Artisans pressured Theo to have sex with a Crafter sex worker, but he declined. In the present, Patrick warns Theo to remember his manners and not stare at Nina. Inside the club, the decadent and exploitative atmosphere reinforces Theo’s unease. Nina expresses her disgust for the Artisans, calling them “animals,” and pointedly rejects Theo’s offer of protection. He resolves to stay by her side regardless, hoping he can still save her.

At Rickers, Nina and Theo mingle with drunk Artisans. Nina quickly targets a man from the archives named Frederick Dunce. She learns that he cannot translate Verian Script but knows a disgraced former colleague who can. Frederick writes a building name and room number on her thigh with ink as a proposition; Nina plays along to secure the introduction. He leads her to a corner of the club where card games are being played. He points out the translator but hesitates to make an introduction because of a past “scandal.” Tired of the charade, Nina pushes through the crowd to the card table and comes face to face with the translator, Polly Prescott. The women were friends at the National Artisan School, but Polly supplied information to Lord Tanner that helped him attack the town.

Stunned by the sight of Polly Prescott, Nina is overwhelmed by the depth of her friend’s betrayal. In a haze of anger and grief, she pulls Theo’s pistol from his jacket, presses it into Polly’s side, and orders her to come with her. As Theo rushes to intervene, Nina’s emotional turmoil manifests physically. Her earth Charmer power erupts uncontrollably, causing the entire club to shake violently. The chandeliers sway, glass shatters, and panicked Artisans scream and scramble for cover, believing they are under a Union attack.

While waiting in an alley outside Rickers, Patrick and John discuss the future. Patrick insists they should return to Kenton Hill after getting the translations, but John says they must go directly to the Seam. When John criticizes Patrick for falling in love, Patrick angrily defends Nina, recounting how she risked her life to stop a mudslide and save dozens of lives in Kenton. He argues that she has more than proven her loyalty.

Their argument is cut short as the ground begins to tremble violently from the tremor Nina is causing inside the club. John assumes it is an earthquake, but Patrick instantly recognizes the source of the power.