A Torch Against the Night

Six days before the Rathana festival, Elias returns to the Waiting Place. Shaeva informs him that the poison is moments from his heart and reveals that the Nightbringer is collecting silver artifacts scattered across the land to reassemble a weapon called the Star to free his imprisoned brethren.

The ghost of Tristas appears and offers forgiveness before dissolving into the River Dusk. This gives Elias new purpose, and he returns to his body in a cell at Kauf Prison. A moment later, Tas enters, and Elias begins to recruit him for an escape plan.

Days before Rathana, Helene Aquilla arrives at a boathouse at Kauf Prison to confront the Warden again. She finds him with Harper and several hidden guards. Helene demands Elias’s release, but the Warden refuses. He reveals that he knows of her supernatural healing abilities and offers a trade: He will spare Elias if Helene allows him to study her power.

Helene recalls a prophecy warning of the Commandant’s plan to stage a coup. Forced to choose between her mission of finding Elias and the Empire, she decides her duty to stop the coup is more important. Helene abandons the hunt for Elias, resolving to save the Empire instead.