A Forsaken Prophecy

In Lavnonshire, Patrick wakes in Mrs. Trunk’s antique shop and finds Nina missing from her room. He discovers her downstairs with Mrs. Trunk, who is communicating with Nina by playing the piano. After the old woman leaves, Patrick confronts Nina for not staying safely upstairs. During their tense conversation, Nina admits that she has never loved a place more than Kenton Hill and that she had become intoxicated by the community and by him.

The conversation turns to her difficult past at the Artisan school, where she and Polly were bullied until Theo befriended her. A jealous Patrick becomes possessive, grabbing Nina’s jaw and warning her that all men, himself included, harbor a carnal “beast” inside them. He releases her and asks her to play the piano. The music soothes him, momentarily making him forget his anger and her past betrayals.

The group gathers to hear Polly’s latest translation from The Stewards’ Testament. The text tells the story of Dione, the second of God’s three daughters. Dione used her magic to protect a seaside town, which then betrayed her to an unnamed enemy to save themselves. Enraged, she fought back with giant waves before being captured and executed.

Frustrated that the story doesn’t mention Idia’s Seam, John pressures Polly to work faster, reminding her that the ship she plans to take is arriving in two weeks. Polly reveals she cannot decipher the text without her grandfather’s cypher, which would reduce the translation time from weeks to hours. Patrick deduces that the cypher must be with Polly’s parents, who live in Lavnonshire. When Polly insists she is forbidden from returning home, Patrick threatens to go himself, forcing her to agree. Later, Nina tells a skeptical Theo that she believes Dione’s story happened in Lavnonshire and is consumed with rage at the town’s treachery.

Disguised as chimney sweeps, Patrick and his father follow Polly to her parents’ home in the Artisan district of Lavnonshire. While waiting, John warns Patrick that Nina is a liability whose loyalties will falter. When John makes a crude comment about Nina, Patrick furiously slams him against a wall, revealing he is now physically stronger than his father and warning him to never speak of her that way again.

John accuses Patrick of putting Nina before the Union. Patrick denies it but realizes he was baited into revealing the depth of his feelings. He then confronts John for telling Lord Tanner that he’s an Alchemist, a betrayal John weakly denies. When Polly emerges from the house, Patrick turns his back on his father and walks away.

At her family home, Polly is met by her father, Reginald, who is angry and ashamed of her presence. Her mother refuses to see her at all. Polly lies, claiming she needs her grandfather’s Verian Script cypher for a translation job at the Morland archives. Reginald reveals that the House of Lords has been inquiring about her, so he knows she is in trouble.

He informs her that he donated his father-in-law’s books to the local Lavnonshire library. His composure breaks as he furiously reveals that a “Crafter kid,” Otto, had sent desperate love letters to Polly at their home, an act Reginald considered a deep humiliation. He berates her for her disloyalty to their family. Shaken but resolute, Polly picks up the crumpled letters and walks out, leaving her old life behind for good.

Back at Mrs. Trunk’s shop, Polly reports that the cypher is in the Geoffry Tanner Collection, a library in Lavnonshire’s Artisan district. Since only Artisans with brands are allowed entry, Patrick cannot go. Polly volunteers, but John is suspicious she will flee.

Polly explains that books cannot be removed from the premises, so she must complete the translation inside. Theo, who is still recovering from his injuries, offers to accompany her since he also has an Artisan brand. Patrick reluctantly agrees to the plan: Polly and Theo will go inside while Patrick, John, and Nina watch the exits. Theo will act as their go-between.

Newspaper reports that the Colsons have joined the House of Lords have led the surrounding parishes to fear they have been betrayed and the war is lost. Back in Kenton Hill, Donny stands with the town’s armed citizens as a delegation of six representatives from the parishes of Dunnitch, Dorser, and Scurry arrives. Their leader, Burgess, demands to see the Union’s supply of bluff. 

Tess furiously defends her family’s reputation, but the representatives are desperate. Burgess delivers an ultimatum: If they are not shown the bluff that Kenton claims to have, the Northeast parishes will withdraw from the Union and surrender to the House. With no bluff to show and facing the imminent collapse of his family’s life’s work, Donny orders his men to disarm the delegates. Then, one by one, Donny personally executes all six representatives with a revolver.

In Lavnonshire, Theo confronts Nina on a cliffside path and tells her that he loves her. Nina firmly rejects him, stating that whatever they once had is over and instructing him not to follow her and Patrick when they leave. Desperate, Theo kisses her, but she furiously shoves him away.

Their argument continues back at Mrs. Trunk’s, where Patrick reveals he witnessed their entire exchange. He invites Theo to plead his case, and Theo accuses Patrick of manipulating Nina and endangering her life. The confrontation escalates until Patrick chokes Theo, threatening to kill him. Nina intervenes, and Patrick releases Theo, telling him that Nina makes her own choices. The assault leaves Theo shaken but more determined than ever.

The next morning, the group prepares for the library mission. Patrick details the plan: Theo will emerge every half hour to signal that all is well. On the walk there, Patrick tells Nina that he would not stop her if she chose to leave with Theo instead of him. Nina angrily rejects the idea as absurd.

They arrive at a large stone library in the city’s Artisan square. Theo and Polly go inside while Patrick, Nina, and John take positions outside to watch the building.

Inside the library, Polly finds her grandfather’s cypher and begins translating the final section of The Stewards’ Testament. The text’s version of history opposes the official doctrine of the House. It states that Idia, the third daughter, was not a warrior but a peaceful Charmer deeply connected to the earth. The “beast” that came for her was not a foreign invader as Belavere’s government claims but her own countrymen, “governors, priests, and farmers” driven by greed (340). They captured Idia, and when they threatened to kill her loyal Stewards, she unleashed an earthquake that created a chasm. She then fell into it, and the earth sealed over her, forming what became known as Idia’s Seam.

For hours, Nina and Patrick watch the library from the square as Theo appears on the front steps every half hour to signal that all is well. As Nina dwells on her feelings for Patrick, a coach arrives, and Lord Shop enters the library with an armed escort.

The designated time passes, but Theo does not appear. Panicked and fearing betrayal or capture, Nina realizes Patrick cannot enter the library dressed as a Crafter. Ignoring his silent plea for her to wait, she runs inside.

As Polly translates the final lines about the people of the Trench pillaging Idia’s sacred resting place, Lord Shop sits down at her table. He’s flanked by guards who are holding a terrified Theo captive. With a calm demeanor, Lord Shop gestures to her work and tells her to continue, saying, “I’m dying to see how it ends” (341).