A hungover Erekkus tells Sylina she got him in trouble with Atrius for wandering during the festival. They banter, and she enjoys his company despite his complaints. The army travels another week toward Alka then makes camp in rocky cliffs near the city.

Sylina asks to march with the army, but Atrius refuses, stating he has many warriors but only one seer. Determined to observe his tactics firsthand, Sylina pretends to fear that the Arachessen will come for her during the attack. Atrius sees through her theatrics but eventually relents, although he warns her that she will have no bodyguards.

He returns her sword, which had been taken from her when she was captured, and immediately attacks her with his own weapon. She finds his instinct-based fighting style difficult to anticipate and knows she must avoid being cut or he’ll use his blood magic against her. When he lands a strong blow and smirks, she uses her magic to create a thread across the tent and Threadsteps behind him. She holds her blade to his throat, and he grudgingly admits that she is competent enough to join him in the battle.

Atrius moves on the full-moon night as Sylina instructed. Erekkus complains about her presence but stays protectively close. Atrius divides up his army to surround Alka and use the tunnels under the city, which are revealed by the night’s unusually low tide.

When Sylina asks if they are setting up a siege, Erekkus explains that Atrius avoids sieges because they kill too many locals, which puzzles her. Atrius’s warriors use magic-infused crossbows to blast the city’s gates apart. Battle erupts, and they enter dark, confusing tunnels that split the army into smaller groups.

Aaves’s brutal, frenzied warriors attack. Atrius fights with inhuman efficiency, using sword and blood magic. Sylina senses a large group ahead. When the crowd surrounds them, she realizes they are civilians being used as human shields. To her surprise, Atrius lowers his sword and orders his men to do the same. He and Erekkus hold onto Sylina as they push through the terrified mass without harming anyone.

Once clear, Atrius mutters his disgust at the king’s disrespect for life. Sylina senses they have been driven deep into the tunnels near the sea. She realizes too late that attacking on the full moon during the swift incoming tide was her mistake and that Aaves has trapped them. Before she can warn Atrius, a wall of water crashes into the tunnel.

In a flashback, a six-year-old Sylina drowns as a man holds her underwater. In the present, the force of the water slams into Atrius’s forces, sweeping everyone away. Atrius tries to grab Sylina but loses his hold. When he tries again, he opens a gash in her forearm and uses blood magic to pull her to him against the current.

Atrius holds her in a rocky alcove, their heads barely above the surging water. He angrily tells her that since he saved her, she must now save his men. Feeling immense guilt for her role in the disaster, Sylina decides to act.

She uses her magic to collapse part of the tunnel’s ceiling and create an escape route. She stops Atrius from going back for his men and instead uses Threadstepping to teleport into the water, grab warriors, and bring them back to safety. She rescues five warriors this way, but each trip drains her further.

The final rescue is the hardest. The warrior is unconscious and the current is strong. Disoriented and afraid of drowning, Sylina goes limp and focuses on the threads. She locates Atrius’s unique presence and uses him as an anchor. She Threadsteps back to him and collapses. Atrius bandages her arm, and they continue their mission.

The exhausted group fights through more of Aaves’s warriors as they climb toward the surface. Atrius remains tireless, and Sylina fights beside him. They emerge from the tunnels near Aaves’s castle. Atrius sees his other forces making their way toward the inner city and shows visible relief.

Aaves’s warriors use civilians as shields and throw explosives, setting homes on fire and killing many innocents. Sylina is overwhelmed by the civilians’ pain and fear. When she sees the body of a small girl, she freezes in horror. Atrius guides her away from the spreading fire.

Sylina realizes that she and Atrius have outpaced their group. When she asks if he wants to wait for them to catch up, he scoffs and says he never waits. He asks if there are too many enemies in the castle for just the two of them. Fueled by fury and confident in their combined skills, Sylina tells him there are not. Atrius smiles, pleased with her answer.

Sylina reflects that while the Arachessen forbid extreme emotions, they are encouraged to be passionate for their Weaver, their Sisters, and their pursuit of Rightness. She and Atrius storm the castle, consumed by hatred for men like Aaves. Sylina loses count of how many she kills, feeling grim satisfaction in her rage. She gains a deeper understanding of Atrius’s reactive fighting style, realizing it is born of living completely in the moment.

They reach the top floor and find Aaves alone. The warlord turns a dagger on himself, declaring Atrius will not have the satisfaction of killing him. As the blade breaks his skin, Atrius uses blood magic to seize Aaves. Atrius’s men file into the room and watch silently.

Atrius’s eyes turn red with bloodlust. He grabs Aaves by the neck, snarls that he has killed demigods and that Aaves’s death means nothing, and rips out the warlord’s throat with his teeth. He takes Aaves’s diadem and throws the body into the sea. He raises the crown to his stoic warriors in a solemn gesture and commands his forces to withdraw. After a moment, Atrius drops the crown and points his sword at Sylina’s throat.

Atrius accuses Sylina of lying about the vision. She defends herself, arguing that seering is unpredictable and that she saved his men. He dismisses this, saying a smart saboteur would do exactly that to gain trust. As he tenses to strike, Sylina pushes her magic against his presence and receives fragmented images of a mountaintop, a dead prince, and the words “the prophecy was a lie” (106).

She blurts out that she knows about the prophecy. Atrius is visibly shocked, then enraged. She bluffs, claiming the fragments she saw about the prophecy were just the beginning and that she needs to live to see the full truth. She also says that his mission is greater than simple conquest. Although she’s bluffing, her words seem to ring true based on his reaction. She argues she has no reason to lie, as her life is forfeit to either him or the Arachessen. He sheathes his sword and dismisses her.

Later, Atrius addresses the city’s terrified civilian population from a balcony. He claims Alka for the House of Blood in Nyaxia’s name, and he promises the people will not be harmed or plundered. Erekkus confirms what Sylina previously suspected: Atrius does not kill civilians in conquered cities. The soldier explains that Atrius reasons that he cannot rule a kingdom while also preying upon its people. Sylina is stunned by this revelation as it never occurred to her that Atrius intended to rule Glaea’s human population.

The next night, a funeral is held on the rocky shore for the fallen vampire warriors. The many bodies are wrapped in red cloth, and Atrius personally lights each pyre. Sylina senses deep sorrow under his stoic demeanor. The army watches the fires burn before dispersing as dawn approaches. Atrius remains alone, watching the pyres until sunrise.

Sylina wakes to Erekkus telling her Atrius wants to see her and is in a sour mood. She goes to his chambers wearing a nightgown that she found in the castle. Atrius is shirtless, sprawled in a chair, and radiating discontent. She senses a painful, noxious energy from him. He asks if she knows how to heal with her magic. She admits she is not skilled but can try.

Atrius lashes out, blaming her for the deaths of dozens of his soldiers and questioning her abilities. She snaps back that she never chose to help his army. He threatens to abandon her to the Arachessen, who would kill her brutally. She masters her anger and offers to try to heal him.

He abruptly pulls her onto his lap and presses her hand to his chest. She feels an intense decay deep within him, a powerful curse unlike anything she has experienced. She asks if it is the curse that Nyaxia placed on Bloodborn vampires, but he says it is something else. He desperately says he needs more time. Feeling unexpected sympathy, she agrees to try to help.

She places her hands on his chest and enters a deep trance. She finds the curse is a tangled, rotting mass near his heart and soul. She cannot remove the decay but begins carefully untangling afflicted threads. As she works, she is flooded with fragments of his traumatic memories, including a vision of Nyaxia and a memory of him holding a dead body with silver-amber eyes. The effort is draining, and her own threads become intertwined with his.

A sudden spike of pain breaks her concentration, and they fall to the floor together. She pushes him back down and uses her magic to sedate him. He resists but is too tired to fight. He whispers his thanks before falling asleep with his hand over hers. She stays by his side for hours, repeatedly soothing his frequent nightmares with her magic. She realizes this is likely the first deep sleep he has had in a very long time. Exhausted, she eventually falls asleep next to him.

Sylina wakes to Atrius gently caressing her shoulder and hair. In a half-asleep state, she enjoys the touch and feels safe. She arches against him, and he pulls her closer, kissing her ear. The kiss makes her realize it is not a dream, and she jerks awake. Atrius is disoriented, then horrified. He leaps up and apologizes, saying he was dreaming. She feigns nonchalance and notes he is blushing. She promises not to reveal his curse to anyone.

Later, Erekkus finds Sylina and teases her about spending the day with Atrius. Erekkus says Atrius is like a stray cat who does not have friends, only people he tolerates. He says Sylina is Atrius’s type because she’s “beautiful trouble” and then thanks her for helping the commander.

The healing becomes a nightly ritual. She works on his curse, and then they sleep beside each other. On their fifth and final night in Alka, she goes to his door without waiting for him to request her presence. She feels an uneasy comfort in their routine and notes she has no nightmares when sleeping near him.

The narrative moves weeks forward. After Sylina and Atrius’s departure from Alka, the nightly healing ritual continues. Atrius tells Sylina their next target is the city of Vasai, which is ruled by a warlord named Tarkan, and she chokes on her water. He asks what is wrong, noting she is acting stranger than usual. She snaps at him, blaming her mood on the oranges his army has been feeding her, and storms out. Sylina is brought a roasted quail, and Erekkus tells her that Atrius wants to see her after she finishes eating.

Atrius leads her to a pond to begin the seering ritual. Sylina sacrifices a rabbit to the Weaver while Atrius watches. He comments on her fast heartbeat. She struggles to begin the Threadwalk and forces her way into the seering.

The Threadwalk is chaotic. Sylina falls through a sea of blood before catching a thread that slices her palms. She feels helpless as blood rises around her. The Weaver warns her she may not want to see what is to come. The mist clears to reveal a battlefield littered with mutilated and burned bodies.

At her feet, she sees her dying sister, a part of the past she has long suppressed. The bodies reanimate, showing flashes of a vicious battle between vampires and the people of Vasai. Sylina recognizes a familiar boy leading a younger girl through the carnage, telling her to look straight ahead.

The little girl in the vision turns and stares directly at Sylina. The boy turns too, now suddenly an adult man. He is horribly wounded, with his throat and abdomen torn open. He chokes out the name Vivi and stumbles toward Sylina. Frozen by fear and unable to move as threads tangle around her ankles, Sylina cannot look away. The dying man grabs her.