Contents
Chapter Seventeen
Overview
Arin provokes Sylvia’s magic by endangering Sefa, confirming it reacts to threats against allies. Training advances but drains Sylvia, and Arin orders a brief return to Mahair. With Rory, Sylvia reveals Hanim’s brutal tutelage and learns Hanim once conspired with Rawain against Jasad. Sylvia discloses Hanim is dead, sharpening looming Alcalah risks.
Summary
Two weeks before the Champions’ Banquet, Arin’s frustration with Sylvia’s unreliable magic spikes. During training, Marek jokes about a “lovers’ spat,” and Arin hurls a dagger at Sefa. Sylvia’s power surges, freezing the room and the blade midair. She removes the dagger and nearly retaliates against Arin before he disarms her, warning her against pointing a weapon at him again.
Recognizing that Sylvia’s magic responds to genuine fear for Sefa and Marek, Arin structures sessions to exploit that trigger. Under this pressure, Sylvia briefly levitates and then hurls heavy war chests and weapons with accuracy, but the exertion leaves her depleted. Concerned she’s “scraping stone,” Arin orders a short trip to Mahair for rest, despite Sylvia wanting to capitalize on their progress.
They argue over martyrdom and motive: Arin accuses Sylvia of self-destructive sacrifice; Sylvia insists she fights for her freedom and rejects lectures about martyrdom from someone who has not lived as hunted prey. Unexpectedly, Arin simply says, “Understood,” and assigns Wes and Jeru to shadow her in Mahair while granting privacy.
In Mahair, Rory welcomes Sylvia but warns the Supreme may recognize her at the Alcalah; if exposed, she would threaten Nizahl’s power and be killed regardless of her Champion status. Prodded, Sylvia recounts her missing years: Hanim found her after the Blood Summit and, obsessed with unlocking her sealed magic, tortured her with dangerous spells and trials to no avail.
Rory reveals Hanim’s history: once Jasad’s Qayida, she was exiled for war crimes and treason for conspiring for years with then-Heir Rawain to overthrow Niyar and Palia. He explains fortress-renewal customs, Niphran’s intended duty, and unrest from broken tradition; Hanim was expelled two years before the Blood Summit. Sylvia reconsiders Jasad’s fall, suspecting deeper internal factions and motives beyond Nizahl alone.
When Rory worries Hanim will seek vengeance, Sylvia calmly reveals Hanim is dead—implying she killed her. The chapter ends with Sylvia’s grim resolve crystallized as the Alcalah approaches and the political stakes around her identity sharpen.
Who Appears
- Essiya (Sylvia)Jasadi heir and Champion; freezes a thrown dagger to save Sefa, advances magic under fear, confronts Arin, visits Rory, admits Hanim is dead.
- ArinNizahl Heir-Commander; provokes Sylvia’s magic by endangering Sefa, intensifies training, orders her to Mahair, unexpectedly acknowledges her resolve.
- RoryChemist mentor in Mahair; warns of Alcalah risks, reveals Hanim’s treason with Rawain, challenges Sylvia on leadership and sacrifice.
- SefaSylvia’s ally; nearly killed by Arin’s test, becomes a focal point for Sylvia’s protective magic.
- MarekFriend and provocateur; ill-timed joke precedes Arin’s test; his and Sefa’s jeopardy triggers Sylvia’s power.
- WesGuard assigned by Arin to shadow Sylvia in Mahair while allowing privacy.
- JeruGuard paired with Wes to discreetly watch over Sylvia in Mahair.
- HanimFormer Qayida; past abuser who tried to break Sylvia’s magic; revealed to have conspired with Rawain; confirmed dead.
- Supreme RawainNizahl Supreme; once conspired with Hanim against Jasad; central looming threat at the Alcalah.
- Niyar and PaliaSylvia’s grandparents; former Jasadi rulers whose policies and reliance on magic shaped the fortress and Qayida succession.