Chapter Fourteen: Inan

Inan struggles to suppress his unstable Connector magic as Zélie’s taunting memory-voice ignites panic and a physical flare he fears others will notice. Determined that killing Zélie and ending magic is the only way to stop his “infection,” he fights the power down while riding with Captain Kaea.

To avoid Kaea seeing his white streak, Inan lingers behind until she summons him. She presses him to repeat what a villager told him; he lies that a mapmaker saw Amari and the thief chart a southern route. Kaea dispatches a firehawk message and warns him against acting alone.

When Kaea challenges his earlier “episode” on Ilorin’s shore, Inan panics and claims he was shaken by thinking he saw Amari’s corpse. The lie softens Kaea, but the memory of the burning at Ilorin surges back: smoke, flames, and the screams of the girl, overwhelming him as his magic threatens to surface again.

Inan yanks Lula to a stop and deflects with concern for Amari’s safety outside the palace. Kaea reassures him about their training, yet Inan continues forcing the power down, feeling tainted and running out of control. He concludes that only by killing Zélie can he silence the magic—and that failure means his own ruin.