Contents
Chapter 25
Overview
In the wake of Owen’s self-sacrifice, Una confronts the young Yvanne, demands the truth, and kills her when Yvanne refuses to abandon the cycle. Una buries Owen and plants the red yew seed in his heart, pledging to wait beneath the yew. This seals Una’s break from Yvanne and sets a new course for the story’s fate.
Summary
Una reels as Owen slits his throat to break Yvanne’s cycle. Unable to watch him die, Una opens her eyes to his body and Yvanne clutching a knife and Owen’s hair. Yvanne tries to bargain, promising to restore Owen and the children, but Una rejects her, asserting she serves no master.
Una forces a single honest answer from Yvanne: if spared, Yvanne would never stop. With that truth, Una delivers swift mercy, driving Valiance beneath Yvanne’s breastbone and killing her without looking back. Una kneels beside Owen, remembering their years and the constancy of their bond.
Determined to protect his rest and pursue a different end, Una spends the day digging Owen’s grave by hand and armor, ignoring Yvanne’s corpse. She lays Owen in the shallow grave, unbuttons his shirt, and uses Yvanne’s knife to open his silent heart.
Una places the warm, pulsing red seed into Owen’s heart so it can rise unimpeded. She buries him by handfuls of earth and whispers, “I will wait for you. Beneath the yew.”
Who Appears
- UnaGrieves Owen, rejects Yvanne’s control, kills Yvanne, buries Owen, and plants the red seed in his heart.
- Yvanne (Vivian), Queen of DominionTries to bargain after Owen’s death; admits she would never stop; is swiftly killed by Una.
- Owen MalloryHis self-sacrifice precipitates the aftermath; Una buries him and seeds his heart, vowing to wait.