Chapter Forty-Seven

Violet faces a dark wielder in the arena at Cordyn, where she must defeat him while protecting Mira and adapting to unexpected interference from Brennan. After a harrowing battle that nearly kills her siblings, she destroys the venin using lightning coordinated with Tairn's arrival. In the aftermath, Xaden violently confronts Viscount Tecarus over his role in the venin's presence, and negotiations begin over the promised luminary.

The chapter opens with a memorandum revealing Violet's difficulty producing wards independently. During the arena confrontation at Cordyn, a dark wielder emerges and begins draining a guard. Violet engages him while ordering Mira to safety, but Mira refuses to leave. The venin proves difficult to strike directly, and Brennan unexpectedly joins the fight. When the venin drains the entire arena floor to dust, Mira shields the three siblings at tremendous cost, nearly burning out her power. Violet sends Brennan and the unconscious Mira to safety and times a coordinated attack with Tairn's arrival, throwing alloy-hilted daggers to pin the venin's feet, then releasing lightning through the water-covered arena to electrocute him. The dark wielder dies, and Violet escapes with Tairn.

Back at the palace, Xaden confronts Tecarus with shadow magic, choking him while demanding answers about the quarried stones from east of the Dunness River. Violet reveals the stones were drained of magic, making them ideal for containing venin. Xaden deduces they've captured more than one dark wielder. After Violet intervenes, Xaden releases Tecarus but threatens to kill him if he ever threatens Violet again.

In negotiations an hour later, Tecarus presents an offer: Violet could live in peace on a protected isle with Xaden in exchange for serving as his personal guard against riderless wyvern. Violet refuses, calling it cowardice. Tecarus then claims he never promised to give the luminary if Violet merely wielded—only to discuss terms. He offers information about dark wielders in exchange for weapons and the safe transport of one hundred gryphon flier cadets to Aretia for training alongside rider cadets. Brennan agrees to the terms, committing them to an unexpected alliance with the fliers.