Chapter 49

Mireya reaches Galva by river, tearfully admitting she expected a corpse and cannot carry Galva back. She confirms the army reached Arvise but warns goblins—and another army—besiege the city. Seeing Galva’s injuries, Mireya resolves to heal her despite her own exhaustion.

Mireya brews an herbal draught and anoints Galva with analgesic oil. In the frigid river, a summoned water-spirit aids a brutal, accelerated healing: Galva’s teeth regrow, tongue and lip knit, eye clears, ribs set, and ankle mends. When the spirit seems to demand a price, Mireya dismisses it with a perilous song, then collapses with Galva to sleep.

Galva enters a vivid, constructed place: a Keshite-style tower overlooking a flowering valley. After ritual bathing and playful omens, she finds Mireya waiting atop the tower beneath myriad stars. They make love, and Galva feels alive and whole, unsure whether the place is dream or reality.

Afterward, Mireya explains tiers of magic: crafting mental spaces, sharing them as more-than-dreams, and the rare mastery of manifesting such places in the world. She names the tower an homage to Nerêne, insisting it is real enough for shared memory beyond time’s weight. She honors the late King Luvain while choosing joy with Galva, promising to return to this dream-place as long as Galva wishes.