Chapter 21

Outside the hidden cave, Evie, Trystan, Blade, Fluffy, and their allies face the Valiant Guard. A nervous new knight, Simon, holds a sword to Evie's back while the captain orders him to retrieve the stardust from her. Evie stalls with humor, but the danger rises when a helmeted knight steps forward and suppresses Trystan's magic.

Trystan collapses in agony, recreating the threat Evie had feared since his earlier capture. When Simon's shaking sword slips, Evie uses the opening to kick him, knock him out, and rush toward Trystan. Another knight attacks her, but Evie's dagger moves almost by itself, guided by the pulsing scar on her shoulder, and kills the man, leaving Evie shaken by what her body has done.

Tatianna and Clare join the fight, each using their own power to bring down more knights. Tatianna disables one with glowing hands, while Clare manipulates burning orange ink against a group of attackers. Kingsley unexpectedly appears as a stowaway, latching onto a knight's helmet and causing him to fall unconscious.

Blade escapes when his captor realizes the Guard is losing, then frees Fluffy from the weighted net. With most of the soldiers defeated, the injured captain orders the helmeted knight who is suppressing Trystan to kill The Villain. Instead, the knight refuses, releases Trystan, and runs the captain through.

The knight removes his helmet, revealing familiar green eyes. Evie recognizes him as her long-awaited informant, whose sudden betrayal of the Guard changes the battle's outcome and raises new questions about his loyalties and timing.