The Nightshade Crown, #1
The Foxglove King
by Hannah Whitten
Contents
Chapter Thirty-One
Overview
Lore returns to Val and Mari’s warehouse, where she learns Anton coerced Val into surrendering her by threatening the whole crew with death. Lore and Gabe successfully reverse Milo’s petrification, proving Lore’s growing Mortem power can be unwound as well as unleashed.
The chapter also gives Lore an emotional reconciliation with her surrogate mothers while preserving the danger around them. Most importantly, Mari reveals that the suspicious cargo movements lead deep into the catacombs beneath the Citadel, shifting the investigation toward the heart of the holy city.
Summary
Lore brings Gabe, Bastian, and the stone-frozen Milo into Val and Mari’s warehouse, a place that still feels like home despite Val’s earlier betrayal. Lore tells Mari a mostly true version of what happened while hiding Gabe and Bastian’s identities and why the group was at the docks. Mari agrees to shelter Milo temporarily, and explains that Val betrayed Lore only because Anton threatened to hang the entire poison-running crew if Val refused.
Val arrives and reacts not with hostility but with relief, embracing Lore and insisting Lore is not to blame. Val explains that Anton made the Citadel sound like a place where Lore’s condition could be understood and taught, which makes Lore realize how carefully Anton manipulated the people around her. Bastian quickly invents aliases for himself and Gabe, and Val accepts their presence only because Lore trusts them.
Lore and Gabe then attempt to reverse what Lore did to Milo. Gabe warns that previous victims of this kind of Mortem attack usually remember little from the hours before it, meaning Milo may not recall seeing them. Working together, Lore and Gabe use Mortem carefully, unraveling the death Lore knit through Milo’s body and channeling it into the stone floor. Lore senses that Milo’s life remains intact beneath the death, and the process succeeds: Milo becomes flesh again and breathes, though he remains unconscious.
Val refuses to let Milo stay in the warehouse because he is dangerous and there is poison to steal, so Gabe and Bastian carry him to a nearby warehouse where intoxicated people often sleep. Afterward, Mari mentions that Val’s crew has been shrinking because newer workers are being paid enormous sums for one night of cargo movement. Lore, Gabe, and Bastian immediately recognize the connection to their investigation.
Gabe presses for details, but Val protects Mari’s promise to Phillip, a former crew member who revealed too much before quitting. Lore refuses to tell Val and Mari the full truth because the knowledge could endanger them. Mari nevertheless gives Lore the crucial detail Phillip let slip: whatever the mysterious cargo is, it is being taken deep into the catacombs beneath the Citadel.
Who Appears
- LoreReturns to her old warehouse, reconciles with Val and Mari, and reverses Milo’s Mortem petrification.
- MariLore’s surrogate mother; shelters the group, explains Anton’s threat, and reveals the catacombs clue.
- ValLore’s other surrogate mother; embraces Lore, explains her betrayal, and cautiously accepts Gabe and Bastian.
- GabeHelps Lore undo Milo’s petrification while remaining tense, disapproving, and focused on the investigation.
- BastianInvents aliases, smooths tensions with Val and Mari, and helps move unconscious Milo.
- MiloAssassin frozen by Lore; restored to flesh and left unconscious in a nearby warehouse.