Contents
Chapter Seventy-Nine
Overview
As the imperial fleet turns south toward Samra, a disguised young servant clings to a ribbon and memories of Benna. In the throne room, Dragon kin maintain the binding that traps the Eight within Shimmer Arbell’s painted cages, and the Guardians receive Dragon’s absolution. Meanwhile, Queen Nisthala sails east for Helia, sheds her bead necklace for the Eye’s emerald, and vows to arrive on her sixteenth birthday, while Yasila recalls Ruko crafting the beads—binding past love to present ambition.
Summary
The Emperor’s Leviathan leads the fleet south toward Dragon’s Mouth Bay and Samra. Aboard a private yacht, Lady Harmony and Lord Clarion repeat their polite resolve to be kinder to Havoc. Their new, unnamed servant—hair shorn, a ribbon hidden in her pocket—thinks of passing through Samra before, and of Benna, who made friends everywhere.
In the throne room, the Dragon contingent kneels to reinforce the binding spell, exiled custodians sustaining the prison that holds the Eight. Princess Yasila has left Dragonscale oil to harden the walls; without incense to mask it, its bitter tang reveals how Shimmer Arbell’s oil-laced pigments drove her fervor. Unwittingly, Shimmer forged the painted cages that now bind the Guardians.
Within the portraits, the Eight suffer and manage scant whispers. The Raven addresses the Dragon on the ceiling, apologizing for failure; Tiger, unusually, also claims responsibility, naming Andren and Rivenna. The Dragon replies with gentle finality—“ALL IS AS IT MUST BE”—easing their pain without releasing them.
Far to the east beyond the Garden, Queen Nisthala steps onto her Leviathan, delighted by warmth and by Shal Worthy’s thorough preparations. Traveling with Yasila, Nisthala declares they are going home to Helia and fixes on arriving precisely on her sixteenth birthday, fashioning her own legend.
Yasila notices Nisthala’s wooden bead necklace is gone, replaced by the emerald set in her brow. Nisthala dismisses the beads as childish and promises to find regalia fit for a queen. As dolphins pace the ship, Yasila recalls Ruko turning and carving the eight sigils into those beads for a festival long ago, his smile bright, a tenderness she can no longer quite answer—linking past devotion to Nisthala’s ascendant power.
Who Appears
- Queen NisthalaSails east for Helia, embraces the Eye’s emerald, vows to arrive on her sixteenth birthday, shaping her own myth.
- YasilaTravels with Nisthala; recalls Ruko crafting Nisthala’s bead necklace; worries over her daughter’s discarded past.
- Dragon contingentExiled kin maintaining the binding spell in the throne room, using Dragonscale oil to secure the prison.
- The Eight GuardiansTrapped within portraits; Raven and Tiger speak briefly; receive the Dragon’s absolution yet remain confined.
- Shimmer ArbellPainter whose oil-laced pigments, unknowingly, created the magical cages that bind the Guardians.
- Lady HarmonyAboard a private yacht; resolves with her husband to be kinder to Havoc upon reaching Samra.
- Lord ClarionEchoes his wife’s intent about Havoc as they sail toward Samra with a new servant.
- Unnamed servantDisguised young woman with shorn hair; keeps a ribbon and recalls Benna; heading to Samra.
- Shal WorthyEnsures Nisthala’s Leviathan is secure before she boards for the voyage to Helia.
- The Dragon (ceiling guardian)Responds to the trapped Guardians with calm forgiveness: “ALL IS AS IT MUST BE.”