Chapter Six

On the morning of the waleema, Sylvia plunges into festival chaos, grabbing breakfast and noting Sefa and Marek’s recent secretive behavior. She worries they may panic after the Heir’s arrival and resolves to watch them. In the market, she surveys distant merchants, samples treats, and buys sesame candies while planning to scan for Arin and his guard.

Sylvia helps an overworked Marek pour ale, sharing a moment that acknowledges their hidden pasts. Afterward, she joins Fairel to watch the fighting matches, resisting Fairel’s prodding to compete lest she expose her strength. The village revels as lanterns are lit and bouts intensify, with Odette defeating a local favorite.

Feeling watched, Sylvia searches the crowd and seeks Sefa, hoping for insight into Arin’s magic-sensing ability. Instead, Arin approaches in a hood, his guards blending in. He coolly addresses Sylvia and produces a sesame candy wrapped in distinctive paper—one Sylvia dropped two miles past the raven-marked trees on the night she crossed into Essam—implying her trespass and hinting at the nearby soldier’s disappearance.

Sylvia deflects, but Arin presses for a better lie, signaling he will not accept her innocence. The exchange underscores his relentless suspicion and her mounting fear of slow exposure rather than swift capture. Their confrontation is cut short as trumpets blare; the crowd kneels. Arin removes his hood and announces “Visitors,” signaling significant arrivals as the festival falls silent.