Moonfall, #2
The Ballad of Falling Dragons
by Sarah A. Parker
Contents
Chapter 36
Overview
Kyzari secretly crafts bone lockpicks to escape her cell but is interrupted by the Scavenger King. He delivers a lark from Pah revealing a maid’s death and threats against Surí, then confiscates the picks. To crush Kyzari’s hope, he tears her cherished lark, Nee, in two, leaving her devastated and further trapped.
Summary
In her cell, Kyzari grinds bone shards into precise lockpicks while hiding her animated parchment lark, Nee. After the meal cart passes, she resumes unlocking the door, driven by anger at being proven the helpless princess her father warned against.
A sudden disturbance makes Kyzari hide her tools and Nee. The Scavenger King appears, opens the cell, and presents a parchment lark from Pah. The message reveals Pah previously tethered a lark to Kyzari’s maid, Marci—who died—and threatens that Surí will suffer until Kyzari returns. Kyzari suppresses her grief and asks the Scavenger King to keep the lark intact.
The Scavenger King demands Kyzari’s lockpicks; she surrenders them. He then orders her to hand over Nee, threatening to destroy the delivered lark if she refuses. Realizing further resistance will risk more lives, Kyzari begs for gentleness and sings a private lullaby to Nee as a final goodbye.
Without compassion, the Scavenger King tears Nee in half, symbolically severing Kyzari’s hope. He leaves as Kyzari collapses over the lark’s remains, consumed by grief and isolation, her escape plan ruined and Pah’s coercion tightening around her.
Who Appears
- KyzariImprisoned princess; crafts bone lockpicks, receives Pah’s threats, loses Nee, and sees her hope crushed.
- The Scavenger KingKyzari’s captor; confiscates her picks, delivers Pah’s message, and brutally tears Nee to break her spirit.
- NeeAnimated parchment lark companion; comfort to Kyzari, forcibly taken and torn apart by the Scavenger King.
- PahKyzari’s father; in a lark, admits deadly tethering and threatens Surí to coerce her return.
- MarciKyzari’s maid; dies due to Pah’s blood-tethered lark, deepening Kyzari’s guilt.
- SuríBeloved being tied to Kyzari; threatened with escalating pain if Kyzari does not return.