Chapter 32

Din and Ana stage a trap at the Green Drover, placing watchers in nearby inns to signal if the killer approaches. Hours pass before the Tottering Hand’s lamp signals, and custodi swarm the streets to seize a young Tala man carrying a cat pipe. Din notes the boy’s vacant affect and concludes he is a conditioned decoy, not their killer, as Seriv leads officers chasing phantoms into the night.

Realizing too late that the earlier single flash from the Empress Forgotten may have marked the true approach, Din rushes to warn Ana. The web’s song floods his mind on the stairs, hurling him into a euphoric memory loop that commands stillness. A familiar woman from his past appears within the memory, prompting Din to recognize the illusion and the danger unfolding in the present.

Overlaying memory with reality, Din forces himself to breathe and summon engraved recollections via the Drover’s scents, diluting the command of the song. Trikao Armenta, disguised like a custodus and carrying a short sword and cat pipe, ascends to kill Ana and silence the investigation. Din, barely moving, begins to draw his sword as Trikao prepares to strike.

Before Trikao can act, he collapses in violent convulsions. Ana, blindfolded and prepared for the conditioning, stands behind him with a blooded lypi lance; Trikao’s ear shows green wax, revealing he is also infected and using protection against the song. Ana chastises the failed decoy ploy and calls in the custodi, promising explanations once Din is steadied.