Chapter 42

A year earlier, as Evermore retreats from besieged Biltmore to Claremore, Rory and General Meers secretly portal ahead to reinforce wards, excluding Briony from planning. Briony rides with the caravan, chafes at Meers’s secrecy, and discusses political marriages with Finola; she resolves to be useful beyond bargaining. That night Briony and Finola quietly raise camp shields.

Didion approaches Briony for another midnight tryst, but she ends their meetings, recognizing her lack of feeling despite his devotion. Moments later, a navigator flame leads Briony to Delilah, a blue‑haired merchant claiming her family is lost. It’s a trap: Reighven appears with Toven Hearst. Briony shields, signals Finola with sparks, and fights as Delilah is cut and then slammed into a tree by Toven.

Reighven physically overpowers Briony and opens a portal to abduct her; the arrival of Delilah’s family triggers a chaotic skirmish. Briony breaks free and flees through the forest, pursued and herded by Toven, trading spells and felling trees. Briefly incapacitated, Reighven screams in agony, but the chase resumes as Briony lights beacons to draw Eversuns to her.

Reaching a clearing, Briony finds Delilah, her mother, and two men dead with hands over their hearts—victims of Heartstop. Nearby, Toven lies wounded and gasping. Hearing Eversuns signal flares and calls, Briony initially hides Toven under branches, then realizes both his hands were cast toward the dead. She understands he executed four people at once with a split Heartstop beyond Orion’s known ability.

Shocked by Toven’s lethal potential and tempted to kill him, Briony ultimately spares him, leaving him hidden and fleeing toward Finola and the approaching Evermores. The encounter hardens her view of Toven as a uniquely dangerous enemy and underscores the peril surrounding their retreat.