33: A Discovery

Waking in the night, Aurora revisits the candy stripe phlox by her family home and tests a suspicion: she bleeds a single drop onto gray blooms, which revive to pink and white. Repeating the act confirms her blood can feed the land, suggesting the mountain may endure without Caspian’s burial.

Galvanized, Aurora races to the castle library, determined to find magic that could bring Caspian back. She becomes consumed by research on Reverie, immortality, and Starmaker lore, neglecting to pull the Sun. Days blur as she eats little, sleeps on library blankets, and ignores her body’s strain while Constance anxiously watches.

Staff whispers grow as darkness lingers. Ina delivers meals and gently urges Aurora to bring the light, but Aurora rebuffs her, asserting she is a grieving widow. A letter from Oliver Burgess warns that Frost is spreading beyond the forest and that village phlox have turned gray, yet Aurora rejects returning to the glacier, blaming the light for Caspian’s death.

Time slips; Aurora loses track until Elsie storms in and physically lifts her from the floor. When Aurora minimizes the threat, Elsie reveals more than a fortnight has passed. Aurora breaks down, confessing fear of losing her family too. Elsie holds her through her sobs, then leads her to bed.

Realizing accumulated magic is making her ill, Aurora agrees to rest. She asks Elsie to stay, receives her promise, and finally sleeps—her mind quietly sorting the knowledge she has gathered, preparing to pull the Sun after she wakes.