Chapter 34: Emory

Emory asks Virgil to use his Reaper magic to slow her heart until she faints, aiming to reenter the dream-realm and contact the demon possessing Keiran. Despite his misgivings, Virgil agrees and performs bloodletting, and Emory slips into unconsciousness.

In the in-between realm, Emory meets the demon in Keiran’s form. She questions how he was absent during the eldritch attack, and he answers in riddles about being in multiple states at once, hinting at the breadth of her own power. He taunts her with Keiran’s memories and feelings, pressing on her guilt for letting Keiran die.

Emory rejects his manipulation, recognizing parallels between Keiran’s past use of her and her recent use of Baz. When she asks what the demon wants, he frames it as retribution and vengeance for wrongs done to him and his. Emory presses for his name; he refuses and allows her to call him “demon.”

The demon then asks if Emory has found “the heart,” the world’s key, implying a race to seize it. Emory warns that she will kill him if he harms her friends. He mocks her threat, warning that a Tidecaller’s power cuts both ways and suggesting she hurts her companions herself.

Emory awakens abruptly to find Virgil—and also Romie, Nisha, Aspen, Vera—watching, alongside Caius, a palace page. Caius eagerly asks to see magic, as Emory processes the demon’s warning and the looming danger surrounding the heart.