Dark Age

Atlas recites a poem from his cell while Darrow and Screwface are outside. The evacuation of the Republic’s forces is to take place the following day, and Darrow senses that something is wrong, particularly with “Cato.” While watching surveillance footage of Cato sleeping, Darrow has a moment of recognition. He rechecks Cato’s DNA, confirming that he is actually Lysander. He orders the destruction of Glirastes’s EMP device and then calls Alexandar and Rhonna, who are still with Lysander, telling them Cato’s true identity and warning them not to confront him.

Lysander, Alexandar, and Rhonna roam Glirastes’s museum, and Lysander resists the urge to correct the others when they make incorrect remarks about the collection. He notices a change in the others’ behavior following their call from Darrow and confronts them. He does not want to kill Alexandar, as they are cousins and Alexandar has proven himself noble, but he shoots him to save time.

Darrow finds Alexandar’s body, experiencing immense grief: “[A] maw of grief opens inside” (669). Rhonna, whose jaw is broken, sees Alexandar and screams. The Howlers follow Lysander, but he escapes. Glirastes’s EMP device detonates, killing the power to Darrow and the others’ armor, the shield, and Atalantia’s fleet overhead.

Lysander, his anti-gravity boots disabled by the EMP, falls into a fountain and swims out as ships, bodies, and debris fall from the sky. He runs through the city to the Hippodrome, where his supporters wait with sunbloods. Lysander cuts his hand, letting the largest sunblood—Blood of Empire—smell it. Lysander then rides out, addressing his supporters and blowing the Horn of Helios, signaling more supporters to join him. Kalindora makes a remark about Lysander’s newly acquired “hunger for blood” (677).

Stuck in his powerless armor, Darrow is attacked by civilians who are trying to break into his suit and kill him. Darrow fights his way through the crowd and then has a Red fetch his misplaced slingBlade (a scythe-like weapon). He finds Thraxa and others and formulates a new plan: He and a band of soldiers will go to the Via Triumphia to delay Lysander while everyone else evacuates to the Mound.

Darrow distributes guns and grenade launchers since the energy weapons are down; others are armed with salvaged materials. Waiting for Lysander’s forces, Darrow wonders if he should have refused to help the people of Tyche, who are now fighting against him. Darrow announces to his forces that killing Lysander is the top priority.

Darrow hears the sunbloods’ hooves. He sends the Reds to the roofs to drop later as “red rain,” and he orders the Golds in armor to lie down and stick out their razors on his command. As the sunbloods charge over them, the animals are cut by the razors, and chaos erupts. As he fights, Darrow focuses on Virginia and Pax, still intent on killing Lysander.

Lysander decimates the lowColors (Browns, Obsidians, Pinks, and Reds, the colors with the lowest status) whom he fights: “I annihilate them” (692). Darrow advances on him, and the “red rain” falls. Lysander is brought down by Thraxa and her warhammer, but Thraxa is badly injured in the fighting that follows. Darrow attacks Kalindora, and then a wave of Lysander’s supporters overwhelms the remaining Solar Republic fighters. Lysander runs to Kalindora, who warns him not to pursue Darrow.

Riding Blood of Empire, Lysander catches up to Darrow and challenges him. Darrow, also riding a sunblood, turns to lance with him. Lysander falls from his horse, breaking his arm and getting a concussion, but he stabs Darrow and breaks Darrow’s famed slingBlade.

Despite his injuries, Darrow makes it to the meeting point at the Mound. Thraxa collapses from her injuries, and a badly injured Screwface is carried in. Thraxa plans to die by suicide rather than risk capture, and Harnassus asks Darrow why he hasn’t given up. Darrow explains that he has an image of a happy life with his family.

As Darrow stands alone, watching Heliopolis fall, Cassius arrives.

Lysander watches the remains of the battle as Kalindora is taken away by medics. Ajax comes to him, and he leads a party to search for Darrow. Lysander does not go along, instead reflecting on his minor role in Darrow’s demise: “I did not beat the Reaper. I simply hit him when he was down” (707).

Electronic weapons detonate in the Mound, catching Lysander’s attention. He sees Cassius’s ship and knows Darrow has survived.

At her home on Mars, Victra holds a burial for Ulysses and then swims out to sea as far as she can, returning several hours later. Victra and Lyria had returned for his body and then went to Olympia, where they found Volga mourning over Ephraim’s body. Victra, Lyria, and Volga now promise loyalty to one another. Victra plans to go to war against Atalantia, while Volga and Lyria plan to go to Earth to bury Ephraim.

Kieran arrives the next day, distraught, believing Darrow died in the fall of Heliopolis. He says that Volsung Fá, whom the Republic cannot afford to fight, wants him to bring Volga to the Ascomanni. Volga agrees to go.

Pax approaches Lyria, offering to fix the parasite in her head and telling her that Virginia is still alive and on her way there. Lyria decides to stay and help the cause, as she “do[es] want to make a difference” (716). Pax asks if she has ever heard of the city of Oculus.

Lysander is troubled by the fact that Cassius is now an enemy. Darrow and a few others escaped, and the survivors from the Free Legions are being put to work reconstructing Mercury. Lysander calls for Apollonius, wondering if he might have hallucinated the Minotaur in Ladon.

Atalantia holds a Triumph ceremony for Lysander. Before the ceremony, he speaks with Glirastes, who explains that Kalindora is alive but dying slowly from poison. Lysander also speaks to Atlas, who hints that Lysander may not have long to live, and to Rhone, naming Rhone—a Gray—his Dux. Atlas rides with Lysander in a chariot through the city. At the end of the ride, Lysander joins Atalantia. Before addressing the crowd, Atalantia tells him that she will assassinate him. Lysander suggests they marry instead, and she accepts.

During the celebration after the Triumph, Atalantia takes Lysander to her meditation chamber, telling him that he will lead the rebuilding of Mercury to help secure the love of the people. They sleep together.

Lysander visits Kalindora on her deathbed. She confesses to him that Atalantia has long loved him, that the two of them—Kalindora and Atalantia—placed the bomb that killed his parents, and that Octavia used the Pandemonium Chair to erase Lysander’s memories of his mother.

He leaves Kalindora, returning to Atalantia. Kalindora dies and is given a sunburial. Lysander sleeps with Atalantia but feels “dead inside.”

Virginia is disheartened as she approaches Mars. Kavax advises her to complete the Iron Circle—a feat of courage involving flying around the planet with her shields down. She agrees and then sees a large gathering of ships formed into the shape of a slingBlade.

They complete the Iron Circle and land to millions of supporters with their fists painted red. When Virginia sees Pax, she wants to run to him but knows she must maintain composure, so Kavax hugs the child in her stead. Kieran ceremonially transfers his power as ArchGovernor of Mars to Virginia.

Virginia attends a debrief and then finds Pax, noticing how he has changed. Pax informs her that Lyria’s brother is alive and that Lyria, no longer a child, is following after Volga. Virginia finds Victra. At first, Victra is enraged with Virginia for leaving Sevro and the others behind, but then Virginia undresses and shows Victra her wounds: “Her eyes search each one of the scars” (745). They receive word that the Solar Republic hold on Earth has fallen and that the Rim and Core have joined forces.

Lysander, no longer feeling bound by duty, arranges to meet Apollonius. Lysander declares he will be different than other leaders, saying, “I will create something greater, something stronger, something fairer” (751). Apollonius agrees to work with Lysander as Lysander stokes Apollonius’s ego.