Chapter Sixty-One

A violent confrontation erupts at the negotiation dinner when Deverelli guards attack Violet, Xaden, and Halden. Xaden uses forbidden magic—shadow-based power—to kill all the attacking guards, destroying his conduit in the process. Violet manages the crisis by threatening Courtlyn with Andarna and the other dragons, forcing him back to the negotiation table.

Guards storm the dais and combat ensues. Xaden tosses a sword to Halden while Violet draws her daggers. She fights methodically, disabling opponents without killing them, but is grabbed from behind by a guard who threatens her and Tairn. After Violet escapes, more guards pour in. Xaden, seeing Violet bloodied and threatened, enters a state of fury beyond his normal battle mode and uses shadow magic to kill a dozen guards simultaneously, his conduit shattering in the process. Violet recognizes the impossible use of magic and the cost it has taken. She shields Xaden from view and has him sit with his head down while she confronts Courtlyn. She threatens escalation—invoking the presence of multiple dragons outside—and mentions her lightning-wielding abilities. Halden, recovering from being knocked unconscious, alerts them that Shira (Courtlyn's panther) has been captured. Violet has already coordinated with Andarna to seize the cat as leverage. She presents Andarna visibly holding Shira delicately in her teeth, then negotiates from this position of power. Courtlyn capitulates, agreeing to pardon Xaden for the night's violence and accept him as a member of Navarrian riot. Violet sends Xaden away with Sgaeyl to Aretia, promising to meet him at Basgiath in a week. She then seals the alliance by presenting Courtlyn with Andarna's dragon egg shell—the only shell of its kind from an irid, the seventh breed of dragon. Courtlyn accepts the extraordinary gift and adds one condition: Halden is banned from Deverelli on pain of death, which Violet accepts. The deal is struck, and Courtlyn hints at another trade opportunity.