Chapter Twenty-Two

Restless before the Banquet, Sylvia slips from her room and studies a living tapestry of the Awaleen and Rovial’s entombment. Sultana Vaida intercepts her and insists on a tour, leading Sylvia past guarded halls into opulent chambers, then unlocking a hidden passage with a Ruby Hound ring forged by Baira’s lingering magic.

In Baira’s darkness-ruled hideaway, Vaida reveals walls of names—her mother’s killers and suspected, long-embedded Nizahl spies—then demands Sylvia lose the Alcalah. She promises sanctuary, rank, and immunity in Lukub, but threatens Mahair, Rory’s shop, and Omal’s orphans if Sylvia refuses. As the candle dies and faces protrude from the walls, Sylvia’s magic stirs under the pressure of fear and rage.

Sylvia rejects the bargain and flees straight to Arin. She recounts Vaida’s chamber, the spy lists, and the coercion. Arin coolly notes he cannot stop Vaida from sheltering her without exposing Sylvia’s identity, then praises her judgment in refusing. Together they deduce Vaida’s likely plan: win the Alcalah, then have a Nizahl agent kill the Victor to justify war.

Sylvia proposes a bargain: Sefa and Marek’s release to Omal after the second trial. Arin counters with a harsher solution—kill the Lukub Champion during the first trial in Ayume, preventing his advancement and denying Vaida her spark for war. He promises escorts and protection for Mahair.

Torn but pragmatic, Sylvia accepts. The agreement tightens her alliance with Arin while committing her to preemptive assassination to avert Vaida’s larger design.