Chapter Seventeen

Lore rushes into Gabriel Remaut’s room near midnight, terrified by a realization from Anton’s theories and Claude’s condition: the dead child Lore raised in the vaults might have awakened in some limited, trapped way, just as the horse did. Memories of Cedric make Lore panic, and Gabriel tries to calm Lore by arguing that human corpses must be commanded and can wait until morning. Lore refuses, convinced the corpse must not be left alone and that August and Anton must not see the full extent of Lore’s magic.

Gabriel chooses to help Lore, and the two hurry down a back staircase during the guard change. On the stairs, Lore collides with Lord Severin Bellegarde, Alienor’s father, who coldly confronts Gabriel about the old scandal involving Gabriel’s family, Kirythea, and Gabriel’s broken betrothal to Alienor. Lore defends Gabriel by pointing out that Gabriel was only a child, but Bellegarde mocks Gabriel for needing Lore to defend him.

Bellegarde claims he only came to welcome Gabriel back, though Lore notices Bellegarde clutching a small piece of paper and suspects the meeting was not his real purpose. After Bellegarde leaves, Lore condemns Bellegarde’s cruelty. Gabriel explains that Bellegarde despises the Presque Mort and believes the Church should be subject to the king, while Alienor does not share Bellegarde’s religious or political obsessions.

Lore leads Gabriel through the Citadel’s dark corridors toward the vaults because Gabriel does not know the way. They find an unexpected bloodcoat guarding the corridor, and Gabriel silently incapacitates the guard without serious harm, giving Lore and Gabriel perhaps half an hour before the guard wakes and assumes he fell asleep.

At the entrance to the tunnel, Lore worries that the Sacred Guard inside cannot be surprised and considers turning back to protect Gabriel. Before they can decide, Bastian steps out of the shadows, revealing that he has found them and implying he can help them get past the obstacle.