Direbound

Meryn immediately asks Killian to leave, but he implores her to let him tend to her wounds first. She allows it, and it reminds her of when he tended to her after her matches in the ring. Torn, she asks him if he’s responsible for the room. He doesn’t answer, but she takes this as confirmation. He says that she isn’t safe among the Bonded and promises to change everything once he’s king. He tells her about a secret passage behind a panel in her wardrobe that leads to his room. He leaves, and Meryn can’t deny that she misses him, but she isn’t ready to forgive him. She finds Izabel and Venna and asks them for help with sword training. With Tomison, they practice and exercise to strengthen their muscles. Meryn wonders if Killian’s warning about the Bonded is warranted.

The night before the Voice Trial, Meryn has a nightmare in which the medic who treated her mother claims that Meryn will soon experience delusions. She then sees her mother with a twisted and bloody crown, calling out to her to come because Nocturn commands it. Meryn wakes with a start and can’t fall asleep. The next morning, she’s anxious as she goes to the arena since she still can’t communicate with Anassa.

The arena has been transformed into an obstacle course, and she watches as some succeed and others die while undertaking the Voice Trial. When it’s her turn, Meryn mounts Anassa and prepares for the worst. As they speed through the course, however, Anassa sends small flashes to Meryn’s mind, indicating her intent, just enough information for Meryn to react accordingly. They place third, which irks Anassa. By the end, Anassa has some respect for Meryn. When Meryn reaches out, however, Anassa closes their communication channel. Feeling as if she has lost the small progress in their relationship, she looks to Killian in the stands and wonders if she has lost him, too.

Meryn agrees to a glass of wine with her friends to celebrate their success in the Voice Trials. While she finds the party ghoulish, she understands that the Bonded need to revel and feel relief under the constant threat of death. She spots Stark in the room and notices the attention he receives. When he sees her, she turns away and falls into conversation with Izabel and Venna. The topic veers to love interests, and Izabel deduces that Meryn has a lover, though she thinks he’s a commoner. Meryn won’t reveal his identity. When she goes for more wine, Stark corners her and warns her against drinking more alcohol. After the encounter, Meryn returns to her room, confused about her growing attraction to Stark.

Egith comes to find Meryn and takes her to her office. There, she admonishes her for rejecting Anassa and considering herself an outsider instead of committing to her new station. Meryn’s next class covers Siphons and their use of blood magic to control minds, weave illusions, and achieve virtual immortality. She realizes that she can enter Siphon territory only with Anassa’s help. She finds her in the direwolf terraces after class and offers her a bundle of sage as a peace offering. Through a crack in their communication channel, Meryn feels that Anassa is insulted that she only now wants to make an effort to be friends.

When Anassa speaks to Meryn’s mind for the first time, the connection feels right to Meryn. Anassa airs her grievances about Meryn’s attitude toward their bond, and Meryn apologizes for her negligence. They agree to work together. The next day, their teamwork feels tentative, but their coordination is successful. Meryn feels hopeful about finding Saela with Anassa’s help. Even when Stark sets three Bonded pairs after her, Meryn is triumphant. When their training is done, Anassa heals her as she leaves. Meryn is perturbed that she longs for Stark’s approval of her performance.

In her room, she finds a note from Killian saying that he has an update on the Nabbers. She follows the secret halls to his room, but on the way, the hall’s shadows seem to move on their own, and Meryn thinks she hears voices. She fears that she’s succumbing to the same mental illness that afflicts her mother. She stumbles forward and finds a large, ancient carving depicting a woman astride a direwolf and wearing a crown made of two metal direwolves. As Meryn puzzles over whether it’s real or the product of her seemingly inherited illness, she loses consciousness.

She wakes in Killian’s room. He explains that he found her in the corridor. When she warily asks him if he saw the carving on the wall, he denies seeing anything. At her insistence, he tells her that they caught a Nabber. Meryn forces Killian to take her to the Nabber, who is a man, not a Siphon as she expected, and she interrogates him. He explains that a masked man ordered him to kidnap children. He isn’t forthcoming about what happens to the children after he hands them over, so Killian starts pulling out his fingernails. The Nabber eventually admits that he takes the children to an abandoned warehouse in the city’s Southern Quarter. After Killian extracts as much information as he can, Meryn enters the cell and asks if the Nabber has seen Saela. He denies it, even after losing more fingernails. Killian orders his guards to find the warehouse and kill the man, but Meryn brutally kills him instead. In her mind, Anassa communicates her approval.

Killian helps her wash in his room. Meryn cuts off Anassa from her mind as she and Killian have reconciliatory sex. He promises not to give up on finding Saela, and Meryn resolves to find her no matter the cost.