Chapter 1

Medra dreams of her infancy, cradled by Draven and greeted by Morgan le Fay, Hawl, and Lancelet, before waking grief-stricken in her cold room and remembering Florence’s absence. She reflects on her complicated ties to highbloods, Blake, and the recent violent upheavals, including Aenia’s death, Lace’s murder, and Lunaya’s bondage to Marcus and Catherine aboard Molindra, possibly carrying Orcades’s soul.

Determined to face the day, Medra heads to breakfast. She and Theo quietly debrief the Frostfire night, confirm Tanaka’s wolf-shifting is real, and are relieved when Vaughn arrives; Theo and Vaughn reunite publicly without incident from most houses. An outdoor academy assembly is announced.

En route, Medra, Theo, and Vaughn hear jeers and find Quinn, Larissa, Gretchen, Edward Ashveil, Lucian Aleron, and Evander Sylvain tormenting a dwarven First Year, Dani. Lucian tosses a crimson apple to Quinn, who hurls it at Dani; it bursts into rancid blood, humiliating her. Medra intervenes, forces a path to Dani, and condemns the cruelty.

The highbloods mock Medra’s isolation, taunting that Nyxaris has abandoned her and that Blake is gone. Theo steps up, shaming Lucian and Evander by invoking Visha’s likely wrath, which prompts Evander to withdraw and drags Lucian along. Quinn and Edward depart with veiled threats, warning that new rules are coming.

As tensions ebb, a hand touches Medra’s shoulder. She reacts on instinct, spins, and punches—only to find Blake has returned and taken the hit, ending the scene on a jolt of shock.