Contents
Chapter 47. Now: Maris
Overview
Maris and Théo go to the gates to meet Luca and flee, but Vale arrives instead with Luca’s message. Luca refuses to desert, and as acting Consul, Vale strips Maris of citizenship and expels her. Théo gives up his medallion to accompany Maris, who departs Isara heartbroken.
Summary
At dawn, Maris and Théo slip through the emptied Citadel District toward the gates, planning to meet Luca and escape before Valshad breaches the walls. The city smolders under smoke from the Lower City, and Maris hides her identity, clinging to the promise of freedom beyond the gates.
In an alley near the crowd, a figure approaches who appears to be Luca, but reveals himself as Vale Saturian with his tribune. Vale delivers a note from Luca that confesses love but confirms Luca will not desert the legion. Maris realizes Luca will stay in Isara and that their plan was never mutual.
Vale, acting as Consul, formally strips Maris Casperia of Isarian citizenship and demands her medallion. Maris relinquishes it, understanding this bars her return. In a decisive act, Théo also surrenders his medallion, choosing to accompany Maris despite the tribune’s alarm; Vale restrains his tribune and urges haste.
Subsumed by grief yet composed, Maris and Théo rejoin the crowd, pass the legionnaires, and cross the gates. Maris trades earrings for passage on a cart and leaves the city, feeling Luca’s presence even as Isara recedes. She departs devastated but alive, her heart still bound to the city and to Luca behind its walls.
Who Appears
- Maris CasperiaProtagonist; attempts to flee, is expelled from Isara by Vale, and leaves heartbroken when Luca refuses to desert.
- ThéoProtects and guides Maris to the gates; renounces his medallion to accompany her into exile.
- Vale SaturianActing Consul; delivers Luca’s message, strips Maris of citizenship, and oversees her expulsion.
- Vale’s tribuneAccompanies Vale; attempts to intervene when Théo resigns, but is stopped by Vale.
- LucaAbsent but decisive; sends letter affirming he will not desert, prompting Maris’s forced departure.