Contents
Prologue
Overview
Neville, a perceptive fluffin, explores Bloodwing’s shadowed corridors, senses a malignant presence near the Black Keep, and glimpses a grieving girl before withdrawing at Nyxaris’s warning. Elsewhere, Viktor Drakharrow cements power by taking Regan as his bride, suppressing dissent, and preparing a public display of authority.
Regan endures assault to protect her hostage brother and resolves to wield fear, while Viktor moves to exploit House Mortis’s vacancy and summons his nephew for a calculated confrontation.
Summary
During a snowbound afternoon at Bloodwing Academy, Neville, a self-possessed fluffin, slips unnoticed through corridors to the kitchens, comforts the head cook with his presence, and then resumes his patrols. Drawn to neglected passages, he approaches the Black Keep, where the air chills with a familiar wrongness.
Peering from behind a tapestry, Neville observes a sorrowful girl sitting on a bed. A harsh, honeyed voice nearby confirms the malign presence he cannot confront. Sensing a warning nudge from the dragon Nyxaris, Neville withdraws into the dark, leaving the girl’s grief behind.
Elsewhere, Regan readies herself to secure power and protect her family. Viktor Drakharrow enters, outlining plans to reopen the academy, close access to the shattered Dragon Court, and exploit House Mortis after Catherine’s disappearance. He notes Blake’s dissolution of his betrothal to Regan, then claims Regan for himself.
To keep her brother Persis safe from Viktor’s reprisals, Regan submits, dissociating while Viktor assaults her. She reframes the ordeal as payment for survival and future status, imagining herself presiding over the students and transforming Blake’s disdain into fear.
When finished, Viktor orders a guard, Davies, to fetch his nephew under the pretense of Headmaster Kim’s summons, promising the nephew a “delightful surprise.” Left alone, Regan steadies herself, determined to cleanse Viktor’s touch and embrace the role of a tyrant queen to ensure her house’s survival.
Who Appears
- ReganAmbitious highblood forced into marriage with Viktor; endures assault to protect her captive brother and vows to rule through fear.
- Viktor DrakharrowPowerful vampire consolidating control; restricts the Dragon Court, targets House Mortis, assaults Regan, and summons his nephew.
- NevilleA perceptive fluffin who patrols Bloodwing, comforts the cook, senses wrongness near the Black Keep, and retreats at Nyxaris’s warning.
- NyxarisA dragon whose distant, nudging presence warns Neville away from lurking danger.
- Sorrowful girlUnidentified girl seen by Neville behind a tapestry, sitting in grief as a menacing voice approaches.
- The CookKind kitchen worker who feeds Neville and is calmed by his presence.
- DaviesGuard outside Regan’s door; ordered by Viktor to fetch his nephew under Headmaster Kim’s name.