The Second Death of Locke

The narrative flashes back to the night of Locke’s destruction. In the Isle fortress, Isaak Locke, a Scaelan who married into the Isle, prepares his son Severin for a suitor’s visit. A young Gremaryse watches her brother from the corner. Breaking from the tradition of the Isle’s arranged marriages, Isaak has established a compromise, and monthly visits from eligible nobles now allow Severin to choose his own wife. Isaak reminds Maryse of the safety protocols meant to keep her from falling under an enemy’s control, such as the poison pearls in her hair ribbons and the knives in her boot heels.

The narrative jumps to the seventh month of visits, during a feast in the goddess Retarik’s temple. Lady Polenna, a returning suitor whom Severin has requested, arrives with knights from the nation of Eprain. As the feast unfolds, unseen enemy forces invade the island and use a drug called breakbloom to sever mages’ tethers to their wells. The invaders then begin burning the Isle. When alarm bells ring, chaos erupts. Eprain’s soldiers attack, and Severin kills Polenna with his dagger before fleeing with Maryse to the cellar.

As the siblings hide, Maryse protests Polenna’s death, but Severin explains that he loves Maryse more than he loved Polenna and wants to keep his sister safe.