Chapter 8

One month after Gabby’s death, Dianna dreams of building a home with her sister before the memory collapses into a warning and the image of Gabby’s corpse. She wakes in a hotel beside Webster Malone’s butchered body, numb to feeling. Camilla’s astral projection warns Dianna that her killings will draw Samkiel under the global curfew, but Dianna intends to leave a message.

When a live interview of Samkiel airs, Dianna’s grief and rage surge; she incinerates the screen and room, abandoning the burning suite. Determined to exploit Malone’s contacts, she goes to a backroom meet disguised as Malone, where low-level mortals complain about curfew disruptions, unpaid supplies, and reveal their true boss is Santiago, not Kaden.

Hearing them mock Gabby and blame Dianna, she snaps. Dropping the glamour, Dianna massacres the men, kills Donte, and cripples Edgar to interrogate him. Between taunts about her “leash” and love for the World Ender, Edgar admits Santiago schedules dock drops day-of and is hiding from Dianna; iron is being moved through old Banisle Sea docks.

Dianna retrieves Edgar’s phone and finds a new message with dock-drop details. When Edgar needles her about guilt—saying she skipped grief for revenge because she wasn’t there for Gabby—Dianna silences him with a mortal wound and leaves him dying, taking the intel to pursue Santiago and Kaden’s supply chain.

Throughout, Dianna’s growing power—fire, blood-fueled visions, and Kaden-linked darkness—contrasts with her emotional void, revealing that vengeance now drives her more than survival, even as guilt over Gabby haunts every choice.