Chapter 43

Nick absorbs Bree’s revelation that Erebus has been the Shadow King for decades, manipulating the Order from within to destroy Arthur’s legacy and eventually consume Bree’s power. Nick connects Erebus’s deception to the deaths and suffering of his own family, Sel’s assignment as Kingsmage, and the Regents’ torture of Bree at the Institute. Bree admits Erebus likely let the Regents brutalize her both to protect his identity and to prepare to hide and use her.

As Bree and Nick prepare for breakfast, Nick is suddenly overwhelmed by Sel’s fury through the Kingsmage Oath. Nick refuses to feel fear because Sel would sense it, and Bree realizes Nick has been hiding these painful surges daily since Northern. Nick explains that Sel’s demonia has intensified Sel’s emotions, and Bree recognizes Nick’s continued faith that Sel is not gone, only absent.

At breakfast, Bree and Nick tell Zoe and Mariah that masked warlocks attacked them during the night. Nick says the attackers were magically enhanced and warns that the group is still unsafe. Nick leaves to gather information from Mikael’s wealthy guests before the next communion, while Mariah suggests a private backup plan to protect Bree from Mikael.

In the abandoned library, Mariah reveals that the Heart of a Grand Dame enhances her Medium abilities and lets her see that Bree’s connection to the dead is broken. Bree tells Mariah and Zoe the truth: Arthur exploited her, Sel sacrificed himself, Erebus manipulated her, she no longer knows her father’s face, and she burned her ancestral plane, cutting herself off from Arthur, Vera, her ancestors, and her mother. Mariah is horrified, and Bree feels overwhelming shame as she explains that Bloodcraft has trapped the women of her line in a cycle of early death and inherited danger.

Mariah begins to understand that Vera may not have known how to help Bree, while Zoe challenges both Bree and Mariah’s impossible expectations of ancestral obedience. Zoe argues that Bree’s mission to recover the crown and protect forgotten Rootcrafter girls still matters, even if it does not fit Vera’s original vision. Mariah apologetically acknowledges that Bree has been alone in experiences no one else could fully understand.

Nick returns and immediately notices Bree has been crying. Bree explains that she destroyed her Medium powers and can no longer speak to ancestors, sense the dead, blood walk, or be possessed. Nick asks whether Bree wants to reverse it; Bree says yes, and Nick supports her confidence. When Zoe asks about the communion, Nick reveals urgent news: Mikael’s group believes they have found the third thief.