Chapter 3

Rin jolts awake after days under laudanum, disoriented and defensive. Chaghan informs her that she burned Unegen so badly he could not travel, and that Enki stayed to tend him; both have left the Cike. He castigates Rin’s endangerment of the team, reminds her Altan named her commander, and delivers a harsh ultimatum: control the Phoenix or die to protect others.

Still weak, Rin joins Ramsa, Baji, and Suni in the mess. They bicker over moldy rations as the ship speeds away from Imperial pursuit. The group confirms Suni killed Magistrate Yang during the chaos in Adlaga and disposed of the body, and that they are racing back toward Moag’s territory to shake the Imperials.

Rin struggles to apologize and to release the others from danger, but Baji, Suni, and Ramsa pledge to stay, motivated by shared betrayal and vengeance against Daji and by having nowhere else to go. Their solidarity steadies Rin even as she fears losing control again.

That night, as the Petrel outruns its pursuers, Rin locks herself in her cabin to confront the Phoenix without drugs. Memories and visions of Speer and Altan’s death surge; she self-inflicts pain to drown the voice but cannot hold it back.

Overwhelmed by the god’s demand for destruction, Rin gives in to opium once more. The smoke silences the torment, granting numb relief while underscoring her deepening dependence and the widening gap between her duty and her control.