Chapter 48

Maevyth wakes at midday in the temple to find Zevander gone and Raivox circling overhead. She spots Aleysia drifting toward the forbidden cells and follows, despite resurfacing memories of her own imprisonment.

In a lit corridor below, they discover a cell crammed with emaciated children marked by crosses and the plea, “May the souls of the innocent spare us from death.” Recognizing nalapox and starvation, Maevyth finds one small girl still alive. Refusing Aleysia’s counsel to grant a swift death without comfort, Maevyth sings the child to a painless end, using her death glyph to let the girl pass gently, and breaks down in grief.

Pressing on, Aleysia hears a cough and leads Maevyth to another cell holding their father—long presumed dead—now aged and filthy but alive. Maevyth breaks the warded lock with her bone whip and helps him up. He explains he was imprisoned after returning from Lyveria, where, for warning of “decimation” seen in a priestess’s vision, Sacton Crain jailed him. He recalls glimpsing a scarred man who spoke of consuming him, which Maevyth takes as a troubling clue about Zevander’s condition.

Across the hall, Corwin Grinsgaith pleads for release, offering knowledge of a hidden pantry. Despite Aleysia’s mistrust, Maevyth frees him. The group follows Corwin to a well-stocked larder. Aleysia ravenously eats raw meat; Maevyth gathers provisions, intent on resuming the search for Zevander.

Their foraging draws Vonkovyan soldiers. One seizes Aleysia; Maevyth kills the other with a death touch, turning him to dust. The remaining guard shoves Aleysia back, locks them inside, and flees. Moments later, Sacton Crain arrives with men, opens the door, and denounces Maevyth as a witch, trapping the group and setting up a direct confrontation.