Chapter 17

Evangeline discovers that the vanished book has left behind a single yellowed page. It lists the four stones with new pictographs—dragon for luck (crossed out), skull and crossbones for truth, spring flowers for mirth, and a flame-licked shield for youth—suggesting the last key’s suspected locations.

She spends the following week in Chaos’s secret library trying to match the symbols to places or histories. Common emblems yield nothing, and even the distinctive flaming shield appears nowhere. Chaos checks in daily but offers no recognition and quickly departs, while Jacks remains absent, deepening Evangeline’s sense of abandonment.

Cut off from the world, Evangeline clings to the daily scandal sheet. One article announces LaLa Slaughterwood’s sudden engagement to Lord Robin and a weeklong costume party drawing members of the Great Houses, intensifying Evangeline’s loneliness and desire to be anywhere but underground.

Another piece reports former Prince Tiberius Acadian’s apprehension after an escape attempt. Remembering his role in the Protectorate and past attempts on her life, Evangeline reconsiders his motives and the group’s true aims. She hypothesizes that the Protectorate may be concealing the remaining stones to keep the Valory sealed.

Despite the danger and what Jacks would likely advise, Evangeline’s hope overrides caution. She contemplates visiting Tiberius in prison to pursue leads on the stones, setting her next move toward direct confrontation with the Protectorate’s secrets.