Chapter Twenty-Four

Lore stretches the Courdigne tour to burn daylight while Apollius lounges in Bastian’s body. As evening nears and Bastian relaxes, Lore settles him to sleep and goes searching for Alie, passing a triumphant Apollius statue crowned like Auverraine. Nyxara hints Their goals differ: He seeks to regain power; She seeks a way to live with what They’ve done.

Lore finds Alie in a dusty study with ledgers and papers. The records reveal large, regular payments tied to Alie’s birth and separation documents favoring Lise, proving August fathered Alie and Severin was paid to keep it secret. Alie vows to ruin Severin and laments August’s abuses; Lore promises support. After helping Alie to bed, Lore finally breaks down alone in the hall, grieving for Alie, the corrupt order, her lost life, Gabe, and Bastian’s bondage.

Later, Lore returns to the bedroom, lies beside the sleeping Bastian, and dozes. Waking to find him gone, she eavesdrops as Bastian confronts Severin Bellegarde. Bellegarde claims the god-binding ritual cannot be reversed and calls Lore the flaw enabling other gods to rise, urging her death in the tomb so Apollius can fully, gradually subsume Bastian. He denies arranging the decoy-ship explosions.

As dawn pinks the sky, Apollius surfaces. Bellegarde presses to remove Lore; Apollius rebukes him, asserting He loves Nyxara and intends to keep Her as queen—no longer a goddess, but bound to His will. He throttles Bellegarde and kills him. Opening the door, Apollius finds Lore in the hall, seizes her arm with blinding vitality, and announces they are leaving immediately.