Contents
Chapter 24. Now: Luca
Overview
Luca meets the Consul at the bridge to set terms: in two days the gates will open, citizens may flee stripped of citizenship, but Magistrates and the Consul cannot leave. The Consul accepts without protest, unsettling Luca.
Vale proclaims the imminent takeover, while Luca realizes the terms endanger Maris and suspects a trap.
Summary
Luca, armored and uneasy, stands at the north bridge with his tribune, haunted by Maris’s departure and the distance between them. He notes the tribune’s loyalty and discovers through Vale that the tribune volunteered and is bound to Asinia. The New Legion gathers as the Citadel looms quiet across the river.
The Consul arrives with two legionnaires. Vale presents terms: in two days, the gates will open; civilians may leave if they surrender citizenship; Magistrates and the Consul cannot depart. The Consul refuses surrender yet accepts the terms without argument, smiling, which chills Luca.
Luca realizes the terms will trap Maris, now a Magistrate, and vows to handle it. The lack of resistance suggests hidden plans on the Consul’s side. Both sides withdraw, tension thick as Lower City crowds watch for promised justice.
Back on the riverbank, Vale declares they will take the Citadel at sunset in two days, rallying the New Legion. Luca, consumed by dread and suspicion of a trap, understands he is not the man with nothing to lose—Maris’s fate now hangs on their next moves.
Who Appears
- Luca MatiusCommander of the New Legion; negotiates bridge terms, senses a trap, and fears for Magistrate Maris’s safety.
- Vale SaturianNobleborn defector; confronts his father, sets strict surrender terms, and publicly vows to take the Citadel.
- The ConsulVale’s father; accepts the rebels’ terms without protest, projecting control and prompting suspicion.
- AsiniaTribune guarding the parley; revealed partner of Luca’s tribune, helps secure the meeting.
- Luca’s tribuneLower City orphan who volunteered to shield Luca; loyal, connected to Asinia, facilitates the negotiation.