Before — Chapter 44

Awakened by a heavy thud, Isla finds Grim collapsed on her floor, bleeding and veined with spreading blackness. She cuts away his ruined clothes, applies the scarce Wildling elixir to every wound, and stays as he fades in and out, even hearing him call her “Isla.”

When Grim stirs again, Isla portals them to his room and continues tending him until the elixir reverses the damage. He thanks her and unexpectedly kisses her forehead. Suspicious of his injuries, Isla presses for answers, fearing he hunted the sword without her.

Grim admits a treasonous secret: a vast scar splits Nightshade, releasing dreks—near-draconic, near-invulnerable beings once made from cursed warriors. A power-imbued sword once controlled them, but a later descendant cursed it so Nightshade rulers cannot use it. The dreks, long banished below, are rising again, and the sword is needed to stop them.

He reveals his father sought the sword to invade Lightlark. Isla asks about his family and customs; Grim explains Nightshade rulers avoid attachments and never take wives because love grants access to their power and makes them vulnerable. Records track partners to prevent repeats.

Pressed about heirs, Grim tacitly confirms he tried for one before his agreement with Isla, believing the dreks may kill him and that Nightshade needs a successor. Isla recognizes the duty and cost. When Grim dismisses love as folly, Isla feels the sting, even as their alliance—and her resolve to help—deepens.