Chapter 5

In a flashback to their first Bomard school year, Briony struggles with the northern cold and suffers mockery from Toven Hearst, Larissa Gains, and their friends on the stairs. In class, Tutor Amelia presents a tree-carving exercise to practice core magical gestures. Briony realizes Toven is chilling her with subtle wind, counters it, and quietly manipulates Rory’s notes so he answers correctly, keeping her promise not to outshine him.

During the lesson, Toven watches Briony closely, suspecting her unseen help. When tasked with carving initials and felling trees, most students fail to mark the trunks. Briony then imagines a heart-thread to Rory and sends him power; Rory immediately carves precise letters and, with her continued support, splits a trunk entirely, earning the class’s admiration.

As others strain, Liam Quill stealthily reaches toward Katrina Cove, who gasps in pain while Liam’s strike suddenly bites into the wood. Larissa Gains imitates the tactic, draining an Eversun girl to land a strong cut. Toven disapproves aloud, and Tutor Amelia arrives, warning that “boosting” human heart magic is prohibited and grounds for expulsion.

After class, Katrina explains boosting: heart magic can be mutually shared in heartspring bonds (often tied to marriage), but it can also be taken without consent, a practice abused in Bomard’s hinterlands. Briony grasps the political and moral ramifications and realizes that her lifelong, effortless empowering of Rory resembles the banned practice—even if it doesn’t drain her—and that Toven likely saw enough to suspect her.