Blood Bound

In Vatra’s capital, the Stone City, a skilled performer named Skylar is distracted during her blindfolded knife-throwing act. She is worried about her best friend and fellow troupe member, Cam, who has been missing since the previous night. Her troupe includes the illusionist leader Aldric, a dancer named Amara, a thief named Izzo, and a strongman named Torin. After the show, Skylar finds a poster announcing mandatory army conscription for all “Blooded”—people with magical abilities—which now includes Projectors like Cam. Skylar reflects that civic unrest has been growing in Vatra because of the draconian rule of King Zachary and Queen Ottilie, and increasing poverty, with rebels often launching attacks on the elite. 

Skylar confronts Aldric, who is unconcerned by Cam’s disappearance and refuses to help search for him, callously suggesting he was likely taken by the army. He prioritizes the money they can make from the crowds gathering for the upcoming royal duel. Furious and defiant, Skylar ignores Aldric’s threats and leaves their camp alone, determined to find Cam herself.

Aboard a canal boat to Vatra, Astrid argues with her mother, Queen Gwen, that her participation in the duel is an eyewash since she can never defeat a magic-wielding prince. Gwen reveals they are traveling to Vatra weeks early to perform a “Blood Binding,” a magical ritual that will link Astrid’s and Zryan’s life forces to prevent any further assassination attempts. The travel to Vatra is especially important in light of the recent attack on Astrid.

As their boat emerges from mountain tunnels, they are confronted with the destructive reality of the Blight, an ecological disaster that has withered the Arturean landscape. The sight is especially painful for Jessa, whose family and hometown were destroyed by it. Witnessing the decay firsthand strengthens Astrid’s resolve. Believing she will die in the duel, she decides to use her remaining time in Vatra to investigate the Blight and its connection to the Heart, hoping to find a way to save her kingdom.

The next day, Skylar refuses to perform until Aldric agrees to gather information on Cam. During her tightrope act, a heckler throws a knife at her, which she catches by the blade, injuring her hand. She incorporates it into her routine before throwing it back into the crowd. Shortly after, city guards arrest the man, causing a commotion. Aldric orders the troupe to flee, but Skylar slips into the crowd and heads for the harbor.

On her way, she sees the corpse of an executed “rebel” hanging from a plinth. As she reaches the docks and stands at the front of the crowd, she hears bells ringing, signaling the imminent arrival of the Arturean witches.

As the Arturean ship approaches Vatra’s capital, Talrok, the Stone City, Jessa gives Astrid new, lighter armor and a specially designed “Brewer’s Belt” to hold her potion vials. Since Astrid experiences a psychic block in casting battle magic, the magical potions can help her disarm an enemy. 

Th Artureans’ arrival at the harbor is met with a hostile crowd and a sudden, magical storm. King Zachary and Prince Zryan appear on their respective dragons—a blue ice dragon named Bruma and the silver thunder dragon Mjolnir. It is Mjolnir who creates a crushing, paralyzing pressure that renders everyone on the ship immobile, while Bruma causes a blizzard and showers of falling ice. As the crowd begins throwing stones at the dragons, Astrid is overwhelmed with terror. Enraged by the attack on her daughter, Queen Gwen prepares to unleash her own powerful magic on the citizens.

Watching from the harbor, Skylar sees King Zachary’s ice dragon land and brutally kill one of the stone-throwers in the crowd. She then observes Queen Gwen use her magic to trap the stone-throwers in nightmarish visions. Nearby, a Dreki—one of the king’s elite guards—accosts a Porter, a Blooded man who used his object-shifting power to catapult stones. The sight of his capture reminds Skylar of her mother’s murder by the Dreki, and she runs to intervene. Before she can reach him, Prince Zryan’s dragon, Mjolnir, suddenly lands, blocking Skylar’s path. The massive beast studies her with an unnerving intelligence, and she is frozen by its presence. After a tense moment, Mjolnir roars and launches back into the sky. Deeply shaken, Skylar runs from the harbor.

Following the chaotic arrival, Queen Gwen and Jessa discover Astrid’s secret familiar, a small black cat named Bastet, whom Astrid has hidden for five months to protect him. Gwen’s disappointment deepens when Bastet reveals that, since Astrid’s Gift has not yet manifested, neither has his. Later, in the city square, the witches have their official meeting with King Zachary and Prince Zryan. To display his authority, the king brings out a rebel captured today. Zachary first locks the rebel’s jaw shut with his Bone Wielder power and then has the man fed to his ice dragon, Bruma, as Astrid watches, sickened. The witches are then escorted to The Rok, the royal castle. Astrid is disgusted by the flagrant use of Vitalas—magical energy—to power luxuries while her own kingdom is ravaged by the Blight. As they enter the castle, Prince Zryan teleports in front of Astrid and offers a cold, hostile welcome.

Aldric gives Skylar a tip, claiming a woman in a blue cloak has information about the conscripts. Skylar tracks the woman to a tavern, where she overhears patrons discussing rumors of a new, unidentified “lunar dragon” and rider in southern Vatra. She follows the woman into a dark alley, only to realize she has walked into a trap orchestrated by Aldric.

After a brief struggle, Skylar is immobilized by a spell. Aldric appears and confirms his betrayal, stating that “everyone has a price” (63). Her captors force a potion down her throat, and she loses consciousness. Her final thought is that being captured might lead her to Cam.

Astrid attends the welcome feast with Jessa when her mother fails to appear. There, King Zachary revives an old tradition and forces Astrid and Prince Zryan to open the festivities with a dance. Zryan, a powerful Teleporter, instantly appears at Astrid’s side. They trade insults and threats throughout the tense dance, though Astrid is affected by Zryan’s overwhelming good looks and the close attention he pays her. The event is then thrown into chaos as Queen Gwen storms into the ballroom, dragging a captured young woman with bronze hair—revealed to be Skylar. Gwen throws the captive at the king’s feet and announces that the woman is Zachary’s secret, firstborn child, and thus the true heir Astrid is meant to duel.

Skylar watches in confusion as Gwen reveals that a blood test has proven Skylar is King Zachary’s illegitimate firstborn. Enraged, the king orders a guard named Tommen to execute Skylar. As the guard raises his sword, Mjolnir crashes through the ceiling, apparently of his own accord—Zryan cocks his head at the sound of thunder and the dragon lands unbidden, leaving Zryan shaking his head as if he does not understand Mjolnir. The dragon kills Tommen with a powerful sonic blast while ignoring Skylar. Mjolnir then projects a thought into every mind in the room: “She is not to be hurt” (82). Stunned by the dragon’s unprecedented intervention, the king relents and summons the “Custodian” to rule on the matter according to the law of the Covenant.