Chapter Fifty-Seven

Violet and Xaden finally consummate their relationship after six weeks of imposed separation, but their intimate moment is interrupted by urgent news: King Courtlyn has decided to keep Halden, and Tecarus needs Xaden's help as an aristocrat to negotiate. The pair must leave immediately despite their desires.

Violet emerges from bathing and encounters Xaden in the hallway. Their passionate encounter begins at a bathroom sink and quickly escalates as they move through the house to a breakfast table near a bedroom window. Xaden reveals he checked the angles to ensure privacy and that his inability to access magic here actually frees him from the sexual restraints he had imposed during their previous six weeks together—he can be with her repeatedly without risk of losing control. After an intense sexual encounter on the breakfast table that breaks the furniture, they continue on the floor with a pillow for support. During their intimate moments, Violet suggests they could stay in Deverelli indefinitely if she takes Tecarus's offer, allowing Xaden to remain safe from his progression toward turning venin. Xaden gently refuses, noting that Sgaeyl is in pain without access to magic and that he cannot let Violet abandon those she loves. Their privacy is shattered when multiple people—Ridoc, Cat, Dain, and Mira—crowd the hallway outside the door with urgent news. A messenger has arrived with word that King Courtlyn has decided to keep Halden as a prisoner or hostage. Tecarus needs Xaden specifically because he is an aristocrat and the only one their party can send to negotiate. Despite the intensity of the moment they shared, Xaden accepts that they must leave immediately.