Chapter 33

Livira unexpectedly confronts King Oanold in the library, recognized from her long-ago appointment as librarian. Oanold’s ragged guards seize her; Lord Algar appears, and a brutal soldier wrenches Livira’s arm until she collapses. As Oanold parades authority, they march her into the center circle, whose healing aura quickly mends her injuries even as the squalor and stench of their encampment deepen.

Questioned about Yute, Livira is slapped and has her arm deliberately broken on Oanold’s orders, only for the circle to heal it. Deputy Acconite emerges as a hollow shell of himself, revealing the group’s dire state. Oanold and Algar deduce Livira may control “doors of light” after recalling a strange glow at her arrival. They threaten to cut off her legs, with Jons—Livira’s former escort—declaring loyalty to the king.

Compelled to comply, Livira draws her small black book but drops it to plunge the area into darkness. She bolts through toppled book-walls, pursued in confusion. While fleeing, she stumbles over a sleeping man and then into an enclosure with a freshly cleaned skeleton, its scalp still bearing black, Dust-born hair—evidence of recent cannibalism among Oanold’s people.

Pressing on, Livira reaches a dead-end cell where she finds Gevin—once a Dust child from Malar’s group—now naked, filthy, and amputated at the knees, the wounds long healed. The sight confirms the enclave’s descent into butchery for survival. Gevin, hollow-voiced, urges Livira to run, calling their prison a living hell, while behind her the enclave rouses amid the enduring darkness.