Chapter 18

In the aftermath of his father’s execution, Zevander sits alone in a cell, reeling from grief and the truth about the elder Rydainn. The warden delivers a tin bowl of black soot—his father’s ashes—and mocks both father and son. Zevander’s rage builds as he confronts the desecration.

General Loyce enters with an orgoth and orders Zevander to his knees. He refuses, bites the orgoth’s ear when seized, and is forced down regardless. At Loyce’s command, the orgoth pries Zevander’s mouth open and the ashes are shoved in, compelling him to swallow part of his father.

General Loyce, both intrigued and intent on domination, declares she longs to break Zevander. Before departing for Luximos, she orders he be sent to her in three days and forbids further beatings, signaling a strategic claim over him. Her control imposes a new direction for his captivity.

After she leaves, the warden taunts Zevander about weakness, Jagron’s misplaced faith in brotherhood, and the reality that only power earns respect. He reveals Zevander won’t return to the mines; instead, at Loyce’s request, he’ll join her Gildona—“caged birds”—a fate the warden deems worse than death.