21. Harlow

Blindfolded and aching after a severe pain episode, Harlow follows Henry down to a hidden subterranean well. The chamber is rough-hewn, heated by sunstones, and plumbed to supply the fort’s armory and walls. Henry explains they do voluntary, annual blood tithes rather than daily ones, then presses Harlow to confess what ails her.

Guarded, Harlow deflects, fixating on the water’s potential to heal yet fearing madness like her father and Able. When Henry insists on staying to ensure her safety, they undress and enter the steaming pool. Harlow notes Henry’s many scars, evidence of brutal hunts and battles. As they soak, she offers a half-truth: she uses ice as pain tithes to Harvain, to manage or quiet her dangerous poison magic.

Seeking to shift scrutiny, Harlow asks about one of Henry’s scars. He admits the fort’s fall left him terrified, and he argues they need baseline trust despite her attempts on his life. To reciprocate, he reveals that a ring from Vardek hides auras—his and his parents’—and that he forgoes it around her. He then shares a deeper secret: his mother bears Asher’s blessing.

Finally, Henry states the core revelation: during the day the wall fell, he died, and his mother resurrected him. The confession and the shared soak become a turning point, binding them in uneasy candor while Harlow continues to hope the well will ease, not worsen, her hidden affliction.