Chapter 58 — Grim

At a triumphant banquet, Isla hurls a bone fork at Cronan’s heart. Cronan halts it midair, suspends Isla before the crowd, and invades her mind, projecting memories that reveal betrayals by Moonlings, Tynan’s attempt on her life in Grim’s castle, and her own people carving her open—meant to break her resolve.

After releasing Isla, Cronan baits the room, promising to kill her if she refuses to join him. He then unveils a poisoning plot by a guest, drinks the poison unharmed, and forces an attendant to taste a drop, killing her instantly—proving his near invulnerability and absolute control.

Wielding the Threads of Time Grim surrendered, Cronan creates a tunnel of fifty portals, each to a conquered world guarded by his knights. He gives the traitor a “chance”: advance by killing a knight at each stop. The man reappears twice, bloodied but alive, then returns impaled and dies. Cronan draws out the man’s planetary aura, fuses it into his crown, and erases that world from the heavens, warning all present.

Cronan orders Grim to return Isla to the cells. Marching her through the halls, Grim questions giving Cronan the Threads but rationalizes he had no choice under Cronan’s mental dominion. In the dungeon, Grim pins Isla and discovers her real aim: during the fork distraction she stole a powerful bone knife hidden in her undergarments.

Grim pockets the knife instead of reporting her, dismissing Isla as transparent and unfit for his own, still‑forming plans. When he reaches to move her, Isla blurs with speed, slams Grim against the wall, and in a swift reversal holds the recovered knife to his throat, reasserting her agency despite captivity.