Contents
Chapter 36
Overview
Regan rides Kage’s wolf through refugee-choked Veilmar, confronting the city’s ruin and her guilt. As Blake’s Inferni retreats to sea, a tainted Viktor arrives and attacks Nyxaris. Florence’s shot and Nyxaris’s fire cripple Viktor’s wing, forcing him into a catastrophic fall toward Peacebringer’s Hill, where Kage and Regan race to intercept.
Summary
Regan mounts Kage after he shifts into a massive silver-gray wolf, and they charge out of Bloodwing toward Veilmar. The causeways are jammed with blightborn refugees, whose fear of both the wolf and Regan’s reputation pricks her guilt. She resists the urge to turn back, deciding to face Viktor and accept the risk of not returning.
Entering the shattered city, Regan witnesses Blake’s Inferni ravage civilians from the sky, struggling to reconcile the monster with the Blake she knew. Kage carries her past toppled highblood mansions to the Avari compound, now a crater, stoking Kage’s fury. When the Inferni appears to flee seaward and Nyxaris seems to have driven him off, Regan stops Kage from giving chase, fearing they will lose Viktor.
A second, tainted Inferni—Viktor—arrives, its wings veined black. Regan vows never to return to the Black Keep or submit to Viktor again. Kage races to the Peacebringer’s Hill for a vantage point as Nyxaris meets Viktor with blistering white-hot fire. Amid the aerial clash, Florence looses a crossbow bolt that strikes Viktor’s chest.
Nyxaris’s flames cling and chew through Viktor’s scales, tearing a ragged hole in his wing. The wounded Inferni spirals downward, trailing embers and smoke. Seeing Viktor’s fall will carry him to the base of the hill, Kage pivots and sprints downhill with Regan, racing to meet the crashing archon.
Who Appears
- ReganNarrator; rides Kage into Veilmar, wrestles guilt, rejects Viktor’s control, and commits to stopping him.
- KageShifts into a massive wolf, carries Regan through the city, restrains from chasing Blake, races to intercept falling Viktor.
- ViktorArrives as a tainted Inferni and battles Nyxaris; is struck by Florence’s bolt and burned, spiraling toward a crash.
- FlorenceRiding Nyxaris, fires a crossbow bolt that pierces Viktor, enabling Nyxaris to cripple his wing.
- NyxarisDuskdrake bonded to Florence; duels Viktor, unleashes searing fire that shreds his wing and forces his fall.
- Blake DrakharrowIn Inferni form ravages civilians, then retreats toward the sea, prompting Regan to prioritize confronting Viktor.