QUICK LINKS: TL;DR Summary // Chapter Summary 1–3 | 4–14 | 22–30 | 31–40 | 41–45
Chapter 15: Sarrush
Riding through the dark, snowy forest, Saeris feels unnerved by the cries of shades, but Kingfisher assures her they pose no threat. The long journey leaves her sore and frustrated, and their banter grows sharp.
Saeris mocks Kingfisher for not noticing when she stole his ring, but he reveals he knew all along. He calls her a “helpless, useless human” and dismisses her as mere entertainment.
Kingfisher and Saeris reach a rundown tavern by a frozen river. A stable hand offers to buy Onyx and even Carrion, but Kingfisher refuses and orders Carrion to be kept warm and safe.
Once inside, Saeris is overwhelmed by strange Fae creatures and reels when a drunk faerie bites her. Kingfisher disinfects the wound, but the sting drives her to accuse him of enjoying her pain. He insists his harshness is necessary to protect her.
Kingfisher then reveals they’re heading to Cahlish, a warded borderland safe from Belikon but also the main battlefield against Sanasroth. He warns Saeris that her survival depends on staying close to him.
Consumed by worry and anger over Hayden and her situation, Saeris downs three beers. When Renfis finally arrives, he greets Kingfisher warmly before telling him that he’s screwed.
Renfis tells Kingfisher that Everlayne is mad at him. Renfis himself is furious because Kingfisher has stolen Belikon’s Alchemist and the sword.
Kingfisher insists the blade is a holy relic, his father’s weapon, and declares Belikon unworthy of wielding it. His outburst draws the tavern’s attention. The patrons recognize him as the legendary Kingfisher King and praise the Dragon’s Bane, a hero of battles.
Saeris watches as Kingfisher denies being that man and flees, stunned that the cruel figure she knows is remembered as a god‑like hero.
Chapter 16: Shadow Gate
Outside the tavern, Kingfisher summons a shadow gate as a shortcut. Saeris insists on riding instead, but he invokes the blood oath to force her through.
Renfis disapproves of the blood oath but assures Saeris that the gate is harmless. Furious and powerless, she steps into the vortex with Onyx in her bag.
The passage through the shadow gate is agonizing for Saeris, and she collapses, sick and weak. Kingfisher walks away, while Renfis comforts her and explains that the pain strikes only the first time.
Renfis defends Kingfisher, saying the quicksilver is twisting his mind. He fears it’ll finally break Kingfisher, especially after going through the pool again without a relic.
When Saeris asks about Kingfisher’s past, Renfis refuses to answer. She then faints from exhaustion.
In a windowless room, Saeris wakes to find Carrion watching her. He tells her that Hayden is alive, working in Zilvaren, and assures her that Madra hasn’t harmed the Third Ward.
Carrion adds that healers treated Saeris’s injuries while she slept. In response, she explains her quicksilver ability and the blood oath she swore to Kingfisher.
Suddenly, Kingfisher appears, tension sparking between him and Carrion. He declares that Saeris is the only reason Carrion still lives. Carrion teases her about being infatuated, and Kingfisher stiffens, eyes flashing toward them both.
Kingfisher then asks Saeris to help him create relics. She demands a promise that he’ll allow her and Carrion to return to Zilvaren afterward. Kingfisher agrees, repeating the promise word for word, and she consents.
As Saeris leaves with Kingfisher, Carrion complains about being locked in. Kingfisher answers that the door was never locked and that Carrion is free to go, though he has only one boot.
Chapter 17: Cahlish
Arriving at Cahlish, Saeris discovers a peaceful estate rather than a war camp. Kingfisher reveals it was his childhood home. They soon meet Archer, a joyful fire sprite who calls him “Lord.” To her surprise, Kingfisher treats Archer kindly and even repairs with magic the broken tea set the sprite dropped.
As they move through the house, Kingfisher advises Saeris to learn about the different types of lesser Fae to avoid offending them, though he openly scorns the Fae gods. She insists on returning to Zilvaren to help her people, but he dismisses the protest and leads her through a door.
Awed by the forge and the surrounding mountains, Saeris takes in the sight. Kingfisher explains that it’s magically linked to the house for safe transport, unlike the shadow gate they used earlier. He clarifies that shadow gates work only within one realm, while quicksilver pathways connect different worlds.
Kingfisher then presents thousands of silver rings for Saeris to transform into relics. She protests the enormity of the task, but he reminds her of their blood oath and refuses to release her until every relic is complete.
Chapter 18: Crucible
Saeris struggles in the forge, unable to understand the old alchemical texts. She experiments with scrap metal but fails repeatedly.
Frustrated, Saeris leaves and meets Renfis, who has just returned from skirmishes. He tells her that he confronted Kingfisher about the blood oath and has arranged a dinner to make Kingfisher see her as more than a tool. She agrees, but only if wine is involved.
At dinner, Saeris and Kingfisher sit awkwardly apart. When he asks how she fared at the forge, she admits her attempts failed. Silver, he explains, is scarce in Cahlish because Belikon has embargoed it. Saeris moves closer to pour wine, and their conversation shifts to how Carrion still carries her scent.
Suddenly, four monstrous feeders attack. Saeris fights but is pinned until Kingfisher kills them.
Wounded, Saeris must have the injury scourged because the claws carried poison. As she begins to lose consciousness in Kingfisher’s arms, he explains that the creatures are feeders, their Sanasrothian enemies, and why silver is vital for the war.
Chapter 19: Bones and All
Saeris wakes in pain from the feeder’s poison, haunted by nightmares. From the shadows, Kingfisher emerges, and they argue about the attack. He downplays it, noting that healers treated her wounds, then calls her “impressive for a human,” which makes her snap at him.
When Kingfisher touches her hair, Saeris realizes she’s in his bedroom. He pulls his hand back and commands her to stay there until she recovers, then leaves for the war camp, taunting that she’ll one day beg to share his bed.
Bound by the blood oath, Saeris discovers she cannot move.
Confined for five days, Saeris grows restless with only Onyx for company. Meals arrive courtesy of fire sprites, while a Fae healer named Te Léna monitors her recovery and promises freedom soon.
On the fifth day, Carrion appears with breakfast and crudely suggests revenge sex, which Saeris rejects. He shares that Kingfisher gave him new boots after a bizarre bath with water sprites, who pleasured him, and she recoils at the story.
Finally, Carrion delivers the healer’s message that Saeris may leave once she eats, and, furious at his delay, she quickly complies.
Saeris spends eight days in the forge, failing twenty‑four times to make a relic until her silver runs out. Frustrated, she encounters Renfis, who climbs the garden wall after battling feeders. He tells her that Kingfisher has returned and demands her presence at dinner. Annoyed, Saeris insists that Renfis come as her guest, and though reluctant, he agrees.
Renfis adds that Kingfisher is with Te Léna but unharmed. When Saeris asks about Kingfisher’s sword, Nimerelle, he explains that it’s unique among god blades because its magic never faded. Though the silver turned black over centuries, the weapon has always remained with Kingfisher.
At dinner with Kingfisher, Renfis, and Carrion, Saeris sits beside Kingfisher. She vents her frustration over her failures, while Kingfisher admits he would keep her in Yvelia if he could, and he orders her to eat. Their argument escalates when she accuses him of abusing the blood oath.
Kingfisher details exactly how he could misuse his power, casting his voice into Saeris’s ear. Renfis chokes on his drink, revealing he can hear the whispers and leaving her mortified. Kingfisher ends their verbal clash by announcing that they’ll all return to the war camp the next morning.
Chapter 20: Ammontraíeth
Saeris, Carrion, and Renfis arrive at the war camp through a shadow gate. Saeris feels overwhelmed by the vast spread of tents and by the enemy fortress Ammontraíeth looming across the frozen river. Appearing behind them, Kingfisher describes the fortress as built from demon bones and obsidian.
The group meets Holgoth, a tree‑like being, who urges Kingfisher to address the warriors. Kingfisher refuses, insisting that it’s Renfis’s responsibility, and disappears, leaving Renfis furious.
Storming toward the armory, Renfis commands Saeris and Carrion to follow.
By the river, Renfis trains Carrion and Saeris. Carrion struggles but learns from the experience, while Saeris is quickly disarmed. However, she adapts and attacks with determination, impressing Renfis.
Kingfisher arrives, mocks Saeris, and says she fights as if she wants to die. When she challenges him, he dismisses her as unready.
Renfis insists that Kingfisher attend a meeting with the war captains. Kingfisher reluctantly agrees but tells Renfis to take Carrion, since he wants to speak privately with Saeris first.
Saeris follows Kingfisher to his tent, larger inside than it appears and lined with books. He offers her food, praises her skill, but insists she must obey him to survive and complete the relics. Kingfisher warns that he’ll compel Saeris if necessary. Their conversation turns into a sudden, passionate encounter, but he pulls away, leaving her confused and unsettled.
Saeris flees Kingfisher’s tent and is swept into a crowd of armed Fae heading to the war tent. Renfis escorts her inside, where Carrion eats calmly and Danya, a blonde warrior, accuses Kingfisher of abandoning them a century ago at Gillethrye. Renfis defends him, but Kingfisher says only that he had no choice.
Enraged, Danya attacks, and Saeris instinctively cries “stop,” unleashing a burst of power that shatters Danya’s sword. The warriors realize Saeris is an Alchemist, and Kingfisher claims her as his.
An explosion suddenly shakes the camp as Sanasroth forces reach the riverbank. Kingfisher, Renfis, and the warriors rush out to fight, as Lorreth, another warrior, orders Saeris and Carrion to stay inside.
Chapter 21: Ice Breaker
The war camp erupts as the enemy attacks. Warriors rush to the frozen river Darn, desperate to smash the ice before vampires can cross. Carrion insists that Saeris join him, and together they help the Fae hack at the ice while fifty thousand vampires advance.
The ice finally breaks just as the first wave reaches the shore. Black smoke pours from Kingfisher, sweeping over the river and sending the vampires plunging into the water.
The attack stops, but Malcolm, the vampire king, calls out from across the river. He taunts Kingfisher, hinting they’ve spoken before, and warns they’ll meet again soon.