Contents
Before — Chapter 34
Overview
Disguised amid a raucous masked festival at Creetan’s Crag, Isla and Grim hunt a snake-bearing thief linked to the lost sword. Isla dances to lure him, drugs him, and learns the blade likely rests in Nightshade’s distant Caves of Irida, guarded by a monster. The discovery sharpens their mission and exposes volatile desire between Isla and Grim.
Summary
Grim brings Isla to Creetan’s Crag during a masked, hedonistic festival, believing the crowded chaos might expose a snake-bearing thief tied to the missing sword. Grim, unable to risk his powers near the blade, gathers a lead from a server. He prods Isla to exploit her supposed Hearteater allure when he cannot use force without drawing suspicion.
To win crucial information for her starving people, Isla trades for a dancer’s revealing costume and a sedative liquor. Masked and trembling offstage, she resolves to choose the performance. She steps into the lights, targets the thief, and dances, drawing even Grim’s charged attention.
Isla leads the thief to a private room, doses him repeatedly, and questions him as he fades. He admits the sword ruined lives and says an unknown master thief now holds it. He reveals a likely hiding place: the Caves of Irida on Nightshade, where a monster guards the hoard. He passes out before giving details.
Grim arrives to find the thief asleep and Isla on his lap. Isla asserts success; Grim simmers with violent restraint. When Isla mocks his susceptibility, Grim pins her, confessing he wants to ruin her, not love her, and bites her throat. Overwhelmed tension breaks as he portals her away with her starstick.
Who Appears
- IslaProtagonist; disguises herself, dances to lure the thief, drugs him, and learns the sword’s likely location.
- GrimNightshade ruler; gathers a lead, restrains powers, reacts possessively, and portals Isla away after tense intimacy.
- Snake-bearing thiefTarget at the festival; drinks Isla’s sedative and reveals the sword may be in the Caves of Irida, guarded by a monster.
- DancerExchanges costume and provides sedative liquor, advising Isla how to catch the thief’s attention.
- Server outside barGives Grim information that helps locate the snake-bearing thief among the crowds.