Glow

Slade’s younger brother, Ryatt, arrives with a bag of food. To avoid the questions of everyone else at the Grotto, Auren volunteers to cook dinner, even though she has no culinary skills at all. Although the group tries to choke down the unpalatable meal, Auren admits her shortcomings, and they all treat the matter as a joke. She feels temporarily relieved that the mood has been lightened.

The next day, Slade presses Auren again to talk about what happened, but she demands to get a tour of the cave to distract him. Auren is fascinated by the luminescent blue light emanating from veins in the rock walls and by the house that’s built entirely within its depths. Slade grows impatient and insists on talking. He tells Auren that he rotted her to save her life and is overcome with guilt because one sliver of rot remains lodged inside her. Auren doesn’t blame him but is concerned about what the fragment of rot might do. Slade promises to keep checking on it regularly.

Upon returning to the house, Auren is surprised to find Hojat there. The healer wants to examine the wounds on her back to make sure they haven’t become infected. She thinks, “What he’s asking me to face is rough hate and slashed violence. What he’s asking me for is to take on a soul-deep trauma that I want to keep ignoring” (180). Though resistant, Auren finally agrees to the examination. The process is a catalyst for her suppressed grief; Auren begins to sob but feels comforted by Slade.

After her emotional storm subsides, Auren concludes that it’s time to pick herself up and move forward. She resolves never to be helpless again. To that end, she wants Slade to train her in self-defense, “to be so strong that [she] never ha[s] to fear anyone else in this world” (194). Slade happily agrees.

Rissa, the ex-royal saddle, is now accompanying Slade’s army as it makes its way back to Fourth Kingdom. She is tending to her friend, Polly, who is going through withdrawal. Another of Midas’s saddles, Polly was dependent upon a drug called “dew.” As it leaves her system, she is fretful and demanding.

When Rissa takes a break from her chores, she encounters Captain Osrik. He hints at his attraction toward Rissa and suggests that she settle down in Fourth Kingdom when they arrive there. Rissa is incensed and tries to deny that she is drawn to the uncouth Osrik, but ends up kissing him anyway. She thinks, “That was a stupid, horrible, ridiculous mistake. And yet, all I can think is, we should do it again sometime” (210).

Auren starts her training with Captain Judd, a trusted member of Slade’s Wrath inner circle. Although she is determined to succeed, she repeatedly stumbles and falls. Frustrated, she fears that she will never learn to defend herself. Belatedly, Judd, Slade, and Auren all realize that the ribbons on her back once acted as a counterbalance. She says, “You never notice what’s keeping you balanced until you realize you’re not standing straight anymore. I took my ribbons for granted” (218). Judd revises his training strategy to a more basic level. He needs to help Auren find her footing first.

Auren experiences a disturbing dream in which she relives the night that Midas cut away her ribbons. She wakes up feeling restless and goes to the kitchen, where she finds Digby. Although he was Midas’s guard, Digby took on the role of Auren’s protector and was punished by Midas for his loyalty to her. He didn’t realize that she held the power of gold-touch rather than Midas until her rampage at Ranhold. Now, the two friends confront each other in the aftermath. Sensing that Digby feels guilty for not protecting Auren better, she tells him, “You can’t keep blaming yourself, Digby. Because all the horrible things that happened to me, they led me here” (228).

The story shifts to Malina, Midas’s former queen. She recalls the days of their courtship when Midas charmed her father into giving him the throne and charmed Malina into marrying him. Malina feels betrayed by both men but has no magical power of her own to fight back.

In the present moment, she is fleeing with her attendant, Sir Pruinn. They are trying to leave Sixth Kingdom, but Malina is unsure of what her future holds. She is deeply suspicious of everyone.

Having spent the previous seven days in intense training sessions with Judd to restore her balance, Auren’s feet are sore, and she is limping. Slade carries her on his back to a hot spring inside the cave where she can soak away the pain. While there, Slade massages her feet, and Auren is grateful for his care.

With the storm finally over, Slade goes in search of Ryatt, who has been on a mission to eliminate Midas’s remaining spies. He brought one back to the Grotto for questioning. Slade uses his rot powers to extract what he needs from the man: “He doesn’t tell me anything I hadn’t already figured out, but doling out punishment helps my dark mood. Only a little. But it helps” (268).

In a flashback, Slade recalls the ordeal of training with his father when he was taught how to control his rot power. When he becomes inattentive, his father causally breaks his finger and then uses the same power to mend it. By this time, Slade loathes his male parent, vowing to one day “break [him] instead” (274).

As the days progress, Auren notices that she no longer has the power to gild objects. The gold isn’t obeying her anymore. Slade believes he knows the reason. He suggests it is because of her fear. He urges her to ask the one question she’s avoided since the night of her rampage. She reflects, “My voice is choked, shaken, and every word I say lands a flinch across his face. ‘So where were you?’” (284).

Slade is guilt-ridden because he failed Auren in her hour of need. He explains the perfect storm of events that caused him to arrive late, and the part Midas played in misdirecting him, but doesn’t excuse his behavior. All Slade can think of is how utterly he failed her.