Chapter 72

Pyrok watches over a fainted stranger in Raeve’s Undercity rooms, noting her experimental rune work and helping himself to her hoarded bread. When the woman wakes, she warns him the blood‑etched window runes mean instant death, confirms her methodical testing, and gauges his intentions.

They speak of Raeve: Pyrok confirms she’s alive and with Bothaim’s protégé, who may sever Raeve’s blood bind using knowledge from the Book of Voyd. The stranger, introducing herself as Essi, shows interest in meeting the boy and reveals she once lived in the Undercity.

Gruffin cries from Raeve’s quarters, and Pyrok struggles to feed him. Essi produces a fresh crowl leg; Pyrok carves bloody strips that settle the hatchling, preventing a tail‑stab and exhaustion. Grateful, Pyrok readies to search for his sister but dreads the vomiting runes guarding the exit.

Essi offers a solution: if Pyrok gives blood, she will etch him safe passage through the main entrance. While collecting his blood, Essi goes still, then recognizes its scent from runes she etched for Queen Dothea Vaegor. She reveals Pyrok’s sister is alive, hidden deep beneath the moonfalls in engineered caverns, unreachable without breaching Essi’s wards.

Relief and shock hit Pyrok. Essi invites him to accompany her when she returns below after perfecting a dangerous project that requires isolation. With hope restored and practical needs still pressing, Pyrok resolves they will also need more meat for Gruffin.