Chapter 78

Gideon and Keeley drive their mounts hard through Hickory Forest toward Massacre Manor, arguing over whether Marv could have orchestrated the letters, Edwin’s binding, and Gideon’s father’s release. Rain lashes them as they arrive to find the thorn wall breached and King Benedict’s flag flying over the tower.

Gideon orders the Malevolent Guard to retake the manor while Keeley charges inside despite his warnings of a trap. The entry hall teems with Valiant Guards. Keeley cuts through opponents as Gideon is tackled, glimpsing severed heads of office workers hung with “Traitors” painted on their foreheads. He kills a captor, cursing the knights’ hypocrisy.

Realizing the invaders must be after Nura, Gideon races upstairs. He finds her chamber seemingly undisturbed—bed unmade, window open to the rain. As he searches, he’s struck from behind. Through blurring vision he sees Nura, crying and glowing silver-white, holding a blunt object.

Nura apologizes as Gideon fades, repeating that she “did it all for her” and that “it’s going to be okay.” Gideon rejects this assurance mentally as he loses consciousness, leaving the battle raging below and his mother’s allegiance ominously in question.