Contents
Chapter 12
Overview
Una and Owen’s fraught companionship deepens as nightmares, gossip, and peril expose Una’s brutality and tenderness. In the mist of Cloven Hill, Una kills the last dragon and finds the grail. Accepting the path to Cavallon as her death march, she withholds intimacy and rides on toward an inevitable end.
Summary
Una wakes from smoke-triggered nightmares with her hand at Owen’s throat, then grudgingly accepts his steady presence when he calms her episodes. On the road through Dominion’s heartland, Owen charms townsfolk for tales while Una alternates between desire and restraint, sharing baths and fires but refusing to act on their mounting tension.
In a hostile northern hamlet, a scarred villager grabs Una’s hair; she nearly kills him until Owen’s bleeding grip on her wrist stops her. That night, as Una dresses Owen’s wound, he kisses her palm, seeing her fully—brutal and beloved. She recoils, fearful of what either surrender or refusal might mean.
They climb Cloven Hill. Una orders Owen to stay back, tracks the dragon’s den, and deliberately kills the ancient creature with a sword through its eye. Amid the remains she discovers a casket holding the grail, resisting an urge to cast it away. Owen arrives frantic for her safety and tends a cut on her brow.
Riding down the mountain, Una calls the dragon beautiful but admits the story ends at the Keep, both understanding she will not return. She debates flight in daydreams, then continues, answering Owen’s questions about her armor, horse, and Queen Yvanne.
In worsening cold, Una offers shared warmth. Pressed together under her cloak, she hovers at the edge of intimacy but stops, believing Owen wants her death more than her body. At dawn she resumes toward Cavallon, praying his promised purpose will justify her end.
Who Appears
- Sir UnaScarred knight battling nightmares and desire; nearly kills a villager, slays the last dragon, retrieves the grail, accepts her looming death.
- OwenScholar-chronicler who soothes Una’s nightmares, gathers tales, stops her violence, tends her wound, and struggles with guilt and desire.
- The Last DragonAncient, near-invisible in mist; slain by Una with a blow through the eye, guarding the grail.
- Queen YvanneOffstage but pivotal; decreed dragon hunts and remains Una’s cause and measure of worth.
- HenUna’s warhorse; steady mount for both riders on the road north.
- Scarred villagerGrabs Una’s hair in hatred; spared when Owen restrains her, exposing her contained brutality.