The Legendborn Cycle, #3
Oathbound
by Tracy Deonn
Contents
Chapter 56
Overview
Bree reconciles with Valec, who reveals that his father is a Nightshade of the Shadow Court and admits that searching for Bree endangered the distance he has built from that legacy. Their conversation helps Bree reframe failure as part of rising, and Valec agrees to keep looking for a way to understand the damage Erebus did to her soul.
At Hazel’s house, Bree faces Alice’s near-death state and learns Alice appears trapped in a liminal struggle with guilt and death. The chapter ends with an unexpected, emotionally charged arrival: Selwyn’s mother appears with Bree’s father, shifting the story toward family reckonings and possible new alliances.
Summary
Bree and Nick find Valec strengthening the ward around the Lounge. Nick goes inside to check on breakfast, leaving Bree with Valec. As Valec works, he explains that he was raised to believe cambions could not cast wards because Merlins use protective magic while Valec is the child of a Shade: his father is a Nightshade of the Shadow Court.
Valec admits that searching for Bree forced him back onto the radar of the Court he has spent a century avoiding. Bree challenges Valec’s belief that his nature limits his capacity for good, and Valec apologizes for putting Bree on a pedestal as someone who could do the impossible. Bree confesses she burned her ancestral stream because she felt she was failing everyone, and Valec tells Bree that falling was part of learning how to rise as a true leader.
Zoe interrupts and joins Valec in teasing Bree about Nick, lightening the mood until Bree’s bloodmark flares. Bree asks Valec to examine what Erebus did to her soul because Bree refuses to accept that the damage is final. Valec warns that he cannot remove the mark but says Hazel may be able to try something with both Valec and Bree’s help, despite Valec’s doubts about his own nature.
After everyone prepares to leave, Bree, Valec, Zoe, Nick, William, Lark, and Mariah go to Hazel’s house for breakfast. William reminds Bree that Alice is there, safe from the Order, and Bree fears she may not feel what she should because of what Erebus took from her. Hazel and Mariah support Bree as she enters Alice’s room, where Bree sees Alice suspended between life and death, apparently reliving the moment Alice believes she failed Bree. Bree stays with Alice, reassured by Hazel and Mariah that love offers grace after failure.
Later, the group gathers in Hazel’s kitchen until the cambions hear unexpected arrivals outside. Everyone prepares for a fight, with Nick ready to protect Bree, William moving Hazel and Lucille to safety, Mariah reaching for the Heart, and Bree summoning root fire. Instead of an attack, Bree finds an SUV in the driveway carrying Selwyn’s mother and a middle-aged Black man Nick believes is Bree’s father, who greets Bree with a weak wave.
Who Appears
- Bree MatthewsConfronts guilt, reconciles with Valec, visits Alice, and refuses to stop fighting Erebus’s soul damage.
- ValecRepairs the ward, reveals his Nightshade father, apologizes to Bree, and offers a possible risky path.
- Nick DavisSupports Bree tenderly, prepares to protect her, and identifies Selwyn’s mother and possibly Bree’s father.
- ZoeInterrupts Bree and Valec, teases Bree about Nick, then helps assess the unexpected arrival.
- MariahOffers Bree emotional support and bravery while visiting Alice and preparing for possible danger.
- HazelHosts the group, comforts Bree about Alice, and may help investigate Bree’s damaged soul.
- Alice ChenLies in a purgatory-like state, apparently fighting death and replaying perceived failure.
- WilliamAccompanies the group to Hazel’s and protects Hazel and Lucille when danger seems possible.
- LarkArrives with the group and joins the cambions investigating the unknown visitors outside.
- LucilleHelps Hazel prepare breakfast and is moved to safety when the group anticipates a threat.
- Selwyn’s motherArrives unexpectedly in tactical gear, revealing a direct connection to Selwyn and past events.
- Bree’s fatherAppears unexpectedly with Selwyn’s mother and greets Bree from the passenger side of the SUV.