Glow

Even though Auren is eager to learn how to channel her anger, she still fears that her gold power is beyond her control. Slade suspects that the episode at Ranhold wasn’t the first time that Auren’s gold power brought destruction. She finally admits that, years before, she caused similar havoc in a town called Carnith.

In a flashback, Auren talks about her escape from life as a saddle in Derfort Harbor when she boards a ship and flees to Second Kingdom. She continues to run as far as she can away from her old life. Eventually, she crosses paths with an old beekeeper named Milly, who takes her in. Auren is happy living in Milly’s cottage until one night when an unknown man enters. Alarmed, Auren seeks to defend Milly. Her gold power emerges for the first time and kills him. He turns out to be Milly’s brother. Unable to control her panic or the onslaught of gold, Auren kills Milly and most of the townsfolk before fleeing again.

The thief lord from Derfort Harbor, Barden East, soon catches up with the frightened Auren: “He didn’t need the clout or wealth from being Derfort Harbor’s east-end crime boss. Not anymore. So he shed the false name and had his men burn Carnith to the ground and bury the gold” (322). Barden changes his name to Tyndall Midas and soon convinces Auren to use her gold touch to help him rise to power in Sixth Kingdom.

Back in the present, Queen Malina continues her flight away from Sixth Kingdom. Sir Pruitt uses a map to guide her to her heart’s desire. The pair end up in the ruined Seventh Kingdom, where a fae army laid waste to the region before destroying the bridge that previously connected the mortal realms of Orea to the fae lands of Annwyn.

Upon entering the decaying castle, Malina is skeptical that Sir Pruitt’s map was accurate until she encounters two young men who are elegantly dressed. The twins, Friano and Fassa, uncloak the ruins to reveal an impressive palace. They explain that they have been waiting for her arrival, claiming, “You’re going to be the queen who saves Seventh Kingdom” (332).

Hojat examines Auren’s back and says that her injuries are healing nicely. She begins to suspect that his skill might be fae rather than human because he didn’t seem fazed by the sight of her ribbons. Still, Hojat remains reticent about his origins.

After Auren dresses, she encounters Lu, one of Slade’s commanders, who suggests an evening trip to Drollard so that Auren can meet the villagers.

Although Auren is wary of this public outing, she goes along. While everyone seems friendly, there is a guardedness about them that puts Auren on alert. Lu also fails to answer her questions about why these people are living in such a secret location.

A while later, Auren hears Ryatt and Slade arguing at the entrance to the cave. Ryatt worries that Auren is a danger to the villagers. He says to Slade, “Why haven’t you told Auren the truth? Why haven’t you told Auren about her? Are you ashamed?” (350).

After hearing these words, Auren confronts the two men and demands an explanation. Ryatt walks away, but Auren pursues the matter with Slade. They travel into the cave, where Slade has rotted a man but left him clinging to life. The sight is revolting. Slade explains that he was one of Midas’s spies, who found the location of Drollard. While Ryatt killed the rest, Slade wanted to interrogate the survivor. Auren questions why he didn’t let the man die after getting information from him.

Back at the Grotto, Auren demands more answers. She wants to know about the other woman that Ryatt mentioned. Although Slade worries about upsetting Auren’s fragile emotional state, he leads her higher up the mountain to another spacious cave where a beautiful young woman lives alone. Auren fears this might be a secret lover. Slade explains that she’s his mother.

Auren is shocked by Elore’s youthful appearance, but she can see the maternal affection that the woman radiates toward Slade. He explains that his mother hardly ever speaks anymore. She obviously carries the memory of some past trauma but seems happy in her private world. Auren and Slade remain to visit with her until Slade leads Auren to another cavern for yet another revelation. He points to a strange rift in the air and says, “This is where I tore a rip into the world” (380).

In a flashback, the young Slade is awakened by a commotion coming from the center of his family’s house. His father has just returned and is accusing Elore of adultery. He also believes that the Orean servants may have concealed her affair. After a brutal interrogation, Stanton learns that Elore has been involved with a servant named Jak for 11 years. This means that Ryatt isn’t his son.

In a rage, Stanton breaks Jak’s neck and is on the point of attacking his wife and servants when Slade intervenes. He uses his rot power against his father’s break power, vowing, “I will be a monster if it means I can destroy one” (392).

When two such powerful magical forces clash, they create a rift in space and time that hurls Slade, Ryatt, Elore, and their servants out of Annwyn and into the Orean world. Slade wakes up four days later in what will become Drollard Village, realizing that the people he has brought there “would now depend on [him] forever” (396).

Back in the present, Auren listens to Slade’s tale in silence and now understands the significance of his nickname—Rip. She also recognizes the abuse that he and his family suffered at Stanton’s hands. Feeling that Slade has revealed his deepest secrets to her, Auren drops her defenses and initiates a sexual encounter that continues on into the night. Afterward, Slade declares his love.

The following day, Auren awakens in late afternoon. Now less fearful of the return of her powers during daylight hours, she dresses and finds the others in the living room in a heated discussion. Apparently, the other kingdoms’ rulers have decided to scapegoat Auren. As Slade explains, “They’re claiming that you stole Midas’s gold-touch. That you became jealous when he announced his betrothal to Queen Kaila, and you killed him in a fit of rage. And…that you’ve seduced me” (411-12).

The rulers demand that Slade surrender Auren to stand trial. To put pressure on him, they have cut off supply shipments to Fourth Kingdom. The group urges Slade to leave Drollard to take charge of his kingdom, but he refuses to go until Auren gets control of her powers. Auren agrees to pull herself together while the others plan a strategy for dealing with the other kingdoms.

As plans get made, Auren is surprised that she is being consulted for her opinion. Thinking of her past, she says, “I was never invited to voice an opinion, never allowed to ask questions. I was just the caged pet meant to be gawked at” (417). Auren is impressed that Slade considers everyone’s ideas respectfully.

That night, unable to sleep, Auren hikes up the mountain to the cave where she first awoke and splattered gold everywhere during her attack on Slade. She is surprised to find Argo in the cave, but the beast seems unconcerned by her presence.

At the crack of dawn, Auren tries to summon her power and has a realization: “My problem is that I’ve always fought or hidden my magic—and my fae nature. I never embraced it. Never embraced myself” (423). She tries focusing again and finds gold streaming out of her hands. Slade arrives just in time to applaud Auren’s success.

Auren continues to practice starting and stopping the flow of gold at will. After four days of trying, she discovers a few things: “I can’t make new gold during the night. That power is still purely tied to the day. Yet I can control any gold around me during nighttime, just like I did back in Ranhold” (428). The most difficult challenge is to absorb the gold back into her body. When she is able to soak up all the gold covering a rock, Auren feels triumphant. She now realizes that any damage she does with her power can be undone.

Slade is pleased with her progress and tries to kiss her. At first, Auren fears that the touch of her lips might turn him to gold, but her control is now strong enough that he is in no danger.