Chapter 24

Acker watches a rooftop sentinel shadow the cottage where he, Irina, Wells, and pregnant Olivia are confined. Irina needles him about being imprisoned and notices he no longer wears the stones, hinting at his visit to Jovie and reopening her hurt. Olivia, calmer under Maile’s care, mentions the midwives have chosen an experienced older woman to attend her.

A knock arrives, and Beau appears, unexpectedly poised and formal. She invites Acker for a walk. Outside, a guard tracks them from the rooftops as Beau leads Acker through Maile’s sunlit streets. She explains everyday comforts like communal bread deliveries, and brings him to a flower-ringed amphitheater alive with golden butterflies.

There, Beau teaches a class of children, briskly quizzing them and commanding both respect and joy. Acker observes how freely magic suffuses Maile and reflects on the contrast with Kenta, where Beau merely survived; here, she thrives. After class, they take a different route back uphill as the rooftop watcher rotates.

Probing Beau, Acker asks when she chose to overthrow their father. Beau admits she always intended it, but Jo made it seem possible; Acker was collateral. She reads lingering deceit and divided loyalty in his aura and suggests their father planted falsehoods in him for years. When Beau references Wren’s defection, Acker reveals the core truth: their father has found a way to regain power by stealing magic from Heirs.

Beau shows no surprise, implying prior suspicion, and then delivers a stark warning: Jo will never help Acker. Concluding on a personal note, Acker asks if Jo still draws; Beau softly says no, and the admission unsettles him more than anything else he’s learned.