Chapter 13

Diem drafts a coded letter to Henri, canceling his attendance at the Ascension Ball for his safety and sealing it with a foxglove token from their shared past. When Luther offers to deliver it himself, Diem orders him to send another courier, citing the risk of associating Henri with the Crown.

Determined to visit her father but wary of scrutiny, Diem agrees to wait until after the Ball as Luther advises. She slips to the dungeons and finds Lily and Teller together, teasing out Luther’s imposing list of titles. From Lily and Teller, Diem learns the Wardens’ authority rivals the Crown’s—Warden of the Light acts publicly, Warden of the Shadows privately—and that Garath holds the latter post, while the Regent’s power is limited to interregna.

Teller asks about the prior night. Diem admits she has magic, and the siblings share a raw reckoning with what her power and crown mean for their future. Teller steadies Diem, urging trust in Lumnos’s choice, and suggests there may be a reason she and Luther are uniquely powerful.

Accepting help, Diem tasks Teller to gather intelligence on the Twenty Houses, especially their stances on mortals and half-mortals. Teller reveals his peers now treat him differently as the Queen’s brother and warns their father has been absent in the forest since the argument.

Before parting, Teller asks to see Diem’s magic. Diem tries but cannot (and does not want to) summon it; she claims she needs rest, masking her relief at feeling ordinary. They agree to another time, and Diem resolves to keep Henri safe, delay seeing her father until after the Ball, and proceed cautiously amid the Wardens’ reach.