Chapter 11

Through sleet and narrow alleys in Bothaim’s outer city, the narrator leads Utris along a discreet route she learned before Rekk arrived. They trade tense humor about a recent brawl at the Velvet Snog as parchment larks streak overhead and the roar of Moltenmaws presses from the sky.

They reach a main street choked with larks and fearful residents hurrying toward the Citadel, clutching children and belongings. Sensing urgency, the narrator seizes a lark and reads a message from G. reporting multiple foreseen moonfalls, some targeting Bothaim, and a rumor that new runes on the Citadel arches can protect against them. The note urges family to be early at the gates, hoping blue-bead lineage grants passage.

The narrator releases the lark and reveals the king already told her moonfalls are coming but are more than fifteen cycles away—knowledge not widely shared. She eyes the Citadel’s towering arches, watches armored riders on Moltenmaws, and doubts the Tri-Council’s transparency, suspecting the rumor links to Roan’s trial revelations about new wards.

As the crush toward the Citadel swells and space proves insufficient for all, the narrator pushes on with Utris, intent on discarding the “meat” he carries so he can seek shelter. She refuses to bunker down herself, thinking of Kaan Vaegor’s instruction to summon him if needed and resolving instead to act so that he does not die.