35 West

Glorian dreams of a faceless figure in a shared mist and wakes chilled and shaken. She keeps to her rooms, wary after the recent assassination attempt by a Crawham miner, while Inys grows tense with disappearances and grim weather. News comes that King Bardholt is approaching Drouthwick, and Glorian takes comfort in the prospect of his arrival.

Bardholt arrives with retainers Karlsten and Thrit. In private, he consoles Glorian, normalizing her fear and urging courage. They plan to ride in the queenswood, and he vows lethal retribution against any remaining plotters. He advises her to seek strength in sanctuary and departs to address the Virtues Council.

Helisent warns Glorian about Wulf’s mysterious origin in the haithwood and the northern tales of witching, urging caution. Determined to learn why Bardholt missed his summer visit, Glorian arranges a ruse of seclusion in the Royal Sanctuary and slips into a hidden spy passage Helisent once discovered.

Through a crack into the royal bedchamber, Glorian overhears Bardholt and Queen Sabran discussing a sickness from Ófandauth that killed an Issýn; Bardholt claims to have burned the infected places to ash and brought a surviving retainer for Forthard to examine. The conversation turns to Glorian’s readiness: Bardholt urges tenderness, while Sabran insists Glorian is too soft and reveals she will bear no more children, fearing her mother Marian’s legacy in their daughter.

As tension turns to intimacy, Glorian retreats, shaken by what she learned and saw. Outside, Wulf encounters her and offers to escort her back, but Glorian, raw and unsettled, refuses his help and withdraws alone.