Chapter 69

Camilla waits in a celestially warded cell, magic suppressed by engraved cuffs and chains. She counts days by meals from Vincent, the guard who sometimes lingers to talk. When footsteps approach, Samkiel and Logan arrive, their power palpable, reigniting Camilla’s fear of Samkiel’s lethal potential and her guilt over past actions.

Expecting execution, Camilla is stunned when Samkiel offers a temporary release. He needs her to impersonate him for a single day; Logan will remain at her side to handle any council interactions and to ensure no one detects the substitution. The request’s secrecy and Samkiel’s nervousness signal his desire to be away for personal reasons.

Samkiel makes the terms explicit: this is not freedom and does not absolve Camilla. He threatens an unending death if she flees, deceives, or harms anyone he cares for, referencing what she did to Dianna. After delivering the warning, Logan lowers the warded bars, unlocks Camilla’s cuffs, and her magic returns. Camilla asks for food to sustain the transfiguration needed to hold Samkiel’s form all day.

As they depart the cell, Logan reveals his profound loyalty to Dianna—calling her his queen if Samkiel so chooses—and credits her with saving his life twice and enabling his wife’s rescue from Yejedin. He hopes the ruse grants Samkiel and Dianna a day of peace. Camilla, moved, recognizes that Dianna may have found the family she longed for.