Contents
Chapter Forty-Four: Sefa
Overview
Sefa incapacitates Sultana Vaida and severs her ring finger to remove a dangerous relic, but the ring resists and a possessing ancient guardian briefly speaks through Vaida. Fleeing to bury the ring, Sefa encounters Marek, only to be seized by Lukubi guards and condemned to the Traitors’ Wells.
Summary
Sefa knocks Sultana Vaida unconscious and struggles to remove a powerful ring that burns her on contact. Realizing time is running out, Sefa overpowers Vaida and, following hard-won resolve and training, severs Vaida’s ring finger to secure the relic. She binds Vaida’s wound, hides the body behind the bed, and prepares to leave without arousing suspicion.
As Sefa moves to exit, Vaida rises with milky eyes and speaks in a deep, otherworldly voice. The entity claims to defend Baira’s seal but acknowledges that Baira has chosen Sefa, then withdraws as Vaida collapses again. Shaken yet resolute, Sefa slips past the guards and sprints toward the palace gardens to bury the ring and delay Vaida’s plans.
Crossing the crowded grounds, Sefa searches for the Commander but prioritizes hiding the relic. She is stunned to hear Marek call her name; he has come in a Nizahl uniform, fulfilling his promise to find her. Before they can reach each other, Marek urgently warns Sefa to run.
Enforcers seize Sefa from behind and present her to a Lukubi officer. The lead guard orders Sefa taken to the Traitors’ Wells and commands that Vaida’s ring be cut from Sefa’s skirts, thwarting her attempt to dispose of the relic and placing her in imminent peril.
Who Appears
- SefaDetermined to stop Vaida, severs the Sultana’s ring finger, witnesses an ancient guardian, attempts to hide the relic, and is captured.
- Sultana VaidaOverpowered and maimed for the relic ring; briefly possessed by an ancient guardian that acknowledges Baira’s choice of Sefa.
- MarekArrives in a Nizahl uniform, spots Sefa, warns her to run, but cannot reach her before guards seize her.
- Ancient guardianSpeaks through Vaida with milky eyes, claims duty to Baira’s seal, and tacitly permits Sefa to proceed.
- Lead Lukubi guardCommands Sefa’s arrest, orders her taken to the Traitors’ Wells, and demands the ring be cut from her skirts.