Chapter 38

Medra leads a mixed column of blightborn and highbloods to Bloodwing’s foyer, where Silvio Santos and House Mortis have barricaded the doors and stationed archers to prevent refugees from entering. The sounds of desperate families outside escalate the tension.

Silvio claims authority under Viktor and the Bloodguards, but Medra publicly challenges him, calling out his cowardice and the cruelty of attacking innocents. Doubts ripple through the assembled students when Medra explains the plague: highbloods turn when bitten by infected highbloods, while blightborn are immune.

Medra appeals to students’ personal histories of injustice, prompting confessions from both blightborn and reluctant highbloods. She frames the moment as part of a broader uprising across Sangratha and asserts Bloodwing as the battleground where unity must replace tyranny.

Seizing the initiative with preternatural speed fueled by Blake’s blood, Medra holds a knife to Silvio’s throat and demands the doors be opened. Simultaneously, Lysander, Visha, and Evie announce the dissolution of house boundaries for those who reject supremacy, expelling loyalists like Quinn while welcoming defectors.

Rodriguez reinforces the new order with a choice: aid the refugees within Bloodwing or depart into a burning city. As hostile students withdraw and allies mobilize, Visha leads the effort to clear the barricades. Medra and the coalition turn to open the doors and accept the refugees.