Chapter 39. Before: Luca

In the catacombs after the Tribunal, Luca reels from Rhea Vitrasian dying in his arms and from killing two young legionnaires in rage. Captured and awaiting judgment at first light, he anticipates the Magistrates will execute him and rewrite Rhea as a traitor, erasing their own culpability.

Vale arrives in armor, dismisses the guards, and confronts Luca for his impulsive violence. He reveals that word of the Tribunal has ignited unrest: people across the river and in the legion call Luca a savior, inspired by a visible mark and images of him kneeling with a bloodied blade. Vale shares that priestesses in the Illyrium opened their veins—two died—signaling a religious fervor and a larger movement Luca has inadvertently sparked.

Handing Luca a knife and time until nightfall, Vale urges him to accept his role in the brewing storm. Luca begs Vale not to do anything irreversible, but Vale insists he already has. Maris then appears; the lovers cling to each other through the bars as Luca, certain of his death, asks her to keep his body from the temple and to conceal their marriage.

Luca cuts a braid from Maris and ties it to his wrist as a token. When Maris refuses to release him, Vale pulls her away, leaving Luca alone with the weight of prophecy, rebellion, and the knowledge that his actions have set greater forces in motion.