Chapter Twenty-One

Lore and Bastian emerge from the culvert into the Citadel gardens, where Gabriel is waiting, bruised from a fight with betting enforcers. Gabriel is relieved Lore is safe, then turns his anger on Bastian for taking Lore and abandoning Gabriel at the docks. Lore interrupts by revealing that Bastian now knows everything about August's mission and the investigation into him.

Gabriel attacks Bastian, fearing the prince will expose or kill them now that Bastian knows August suspects him of treason. Bastian needles Gabriel about the Church and Crown using guilt and impossible absolution to control him, and Lore pulls Gabriel away before the confrontation becomes worse. Lore argues that August may be framing Bastian, but Gabriel distrusts the prince and wants to involve Anton.

Lore and Bastian both reject telling Anton. Bastian says August wants him gone and threatens to send Lore and Gabriel to the Burnt Isles if they involve August or Anton without his approval, forcing Gabriel to agree. Bastian then points out that Lore can question the corpse in the vault, which makes Lore realize August and Anton may have kept her from asking the dead too much on purpose.

The three return through the Citadel to the vaults, where Bastian uses his rank and a fabricated explanation to get past the guard. In the vault, Lore sees the dead child lying still, but the body sits up when Lore enters. When Lore asks what killed the child, the corpse says, “The night killed me,” then adds that Lore must find the others because they are not destroyed.

Lore tries to undo the reanimation by sending Mortem back into the corpse, but she cannot grasp Mortem while Bastian is in the room. Gabriel silently tests his own channeling and also fails, confirming that Bastian's presence interferes with Mortem. After Bastian leaves, Lore channels Mortem into the corpse and lays it back to rest, exhausting herself in the process.

As dawn breaks, Gabriel asks what the corpse meant. Lore concludes that the message refers to the other bodies from the dead villages: August and Anton did not burn them, but are keeping them hidden somewhere. This discovery redirects the investigation away from Bastian alone and toward the secrets being concealed by the king and Priest Exalted.