Chapter 39

Logan, ambushed and blood-drained by Dianna, recovers as they argue over his solitary search for Neverra. Dianna’s power and intent to proceed alone unsettle Logan, who tries to understand her objective. Their confrontation pauses when the dead below emit a unified scream.

Dust and iron swirl into a fiery-ringed portal. A regal Ig’Morruthen—Tobias of Onuna, known on Rashearim as Haldnunen—arrives, confirming Dianna’s plan to exploit an opening into another realm. Clawed, winged beasts pour through, sniff for Dianna, and remove the dead mortals and amassed iron. Dianna cloaks them in shadow to evade detection until the creatures depart.

As the portal narrows, Logan blocks Dianna’s rush to enter, warning the passage is one-way and she will be trapped. Dianna reveals this is deliberate—believing it leads to Kaden—and refuses assistance, framing it as a suicide mission and pushing Samkiel away by design.

Logan challenges Dianna’s fatalism, invoking Gabriella’s memory and Samkiel’s feelings. Their clash turns physical, but Logan leverages a final threat: he will summon Samkiel unless she lets him accompany her. Dianna weighs the risk of exposure against her plan and grudgingly relents.

With no escape strategy, Dianna enters first. Logan, determined to reach Neverra and accepting the danger, follows her into the sealing portal, leaving the cavern behind.