The Nightshade Crown, #1
The Foxglove King
by Hannah Whitten
Contents
Chapter Twenty-Two
Overview
Lore and Gabriel clash over whether to trust Bastian, Mortem, or the official story from August and Anton, exposing the strain between Gabriel’s loyalty and Lore’s growing certainty that they are being manipulated. Their argument nearly turns intimate, but Lore withholds her true history and chooses caution over confession.
The chapter shifts them from raw suspicion into a tentative plan: research why Bastian blocks Mortem and later search for the hidden bodies. After a day of uneasy rest, Alie’s croquet invitation pulls Lore and Gabriel back into courtly performance, where Bastian is already waiting.
Summary
After leaving Bastian and returning to the southeast turret, Lore and Gabriel argue over what the corpse in the vault revealed. Gabriel cannot understand why Anton or August would lie about the village bodies, while Lore insists that the lie about disposal, combined with the false claim that Bastian is an informant, means the King and the Priest Exalted cannot be trusted.
Gabriel challenges how Lore knows the hidden bodies exist, and Lore chooses not to tell him the truth about her origins or her deeper connection to Mortem. Instead, Lore claims the knowledge may come from the Mortem inside the corpse she raised. Gabriel rejects Mortem as reliable evidence, and the disagreement sharpens into accusations about Bastian, manipulation, and whether Gabriel has been trained to accept being used.
Their confrontation becomes physically and emotionally charged when Lore shoves Gabriel back onto the couch and stands close to him. Both feel the pull of attraction, but Gabriel’s vows and Lore’s decision to keep her secrets stop either of them from acting on it. Lore declares that she will search for the bodies with or without Gabriel.
Once the tension cools, Gabriel asks what finding the bodies would prove. Lore explains that the immediate proof would be that August and Anton have lied about the corpses and possibly about Kirythea as well. They also discuss Bastian’s strange ability to prevent both Lore and Gabriel from sensing Mortem; Gabriel suggests researching the Arceneaux line in the Church library, and they agree to wait a couple of days before searching for bodies because August is likely to summon them after they were seen leaving with Bastian.
Lore sleeps on the couch rather than in her bed, wanting not to be alone despite everything unsaid between her and Gabriel. During her grounding visualization, the black smoke in her forest seems thicker than before. The next day passes in recovery: Gabriel reads Church texts while Lore naps, and both sleep late into the following day.
A letter from Alie Remaut arrives, reminding them of a croquet game scheduled after lunch. Lore insists on going, partly to escape the apartments and pretend at normality. She and Gabriel arrive at the luncheon area to find Alie, Bastian, Cecelia, and Olivier waiting; Bastian smoothly arranges the teams, flirts with both siblings, and Alie leads everyone outside determined to win.
Who Appears
- LoreArgues for investigating hidden bodies, withholds her origins, resists Gabriel’s pull, and chooses the croquet outing.
- GabrielSkeptical Presque Mort struggling with loyalty to Anton, attraction to Lore, and suspicion of Bastian.
- BastianCentral to the mistrust debate; later appears at Alie’s croquet gathering with practiced courtly ease.
- Alie RemautSends the croquet reminder and organizes teams, drawing Lore and Gabriel back into court society.
- CeceliaCourtier now clear-eyed; flirts with Bastian and prepares to play against Lore’s team.
- OlivierCecelia’s brother; joins the game and responds dryly to Bastian’s flirtation.