Chapter 17

The funeral stretches on as speakers and musicians honor King Ulther. Diem sits with House Corbois, bantering with Taran, who treats her as an equal, easing the court’s hostility. Luther, stern in public, quietly vows Diem will not die before the Challenging and promises to ensure her coronation.

At Remis’s prompt, Luther reads a poem by Ulther’s late mate, Rapheol. Eleanor explains Rapheol’s poisoning by a rival House and how Ulther’s bargain prevented his own revenge, leading Corbois brothers to annihilate that House. Diem, shaken by the brutality, asks about mating, prompting Eleanor and Taran to describe the sacred, permanent bond and the tragedy of stranded mates.

Moved by their constraints, Diem declares an end to Garath’s ban on royal mating without permission. Taran and Eleanor react with hope. Luther returns; a charged exchange reveals his past with Iléana was political, not romantic, and his desire is for “something I cannot have,” pointedly directed at Diem.

Garath confronts them for laughing at a funeral and insinuates Luther’s ambition caused Ulther’s death and endangers Diem. Luther’s fury simmers as he defends Diem, but Diem rises and asserts responsibility for her choices, warning Garath about her future authority. After a heated stare-down, Garath withdraws.

Shaken, Diem sits. Luther coaches her to mask her reaction and subtly touches her, then warns that Garath is dangerous—safe to provoke only by Luther, not Diem. Diem insists she is “fatal,” but privately worries she may have made a grave mistake.