Chapter 61

Raeve discovers the child she was ordered to kill—Ahvi, a young silver-haired Mindweft fae—sheltering a Moltenmaw egg in a hidden chamber. Ahvi reveals he is aware of the violence she just committed and possesses abilities that terrify the royal powers pursuing him, then cryptically instructs her to flee.

Raeve enters a circular chamber with a mosaic dome and finds a makeshift Moltenmaw nest. Inside crouches Ahvi, a small fae child with silver hair and eyes, dressed in an oversized white Runi robe and cradling a powder-blue egg. The encounter shocks Raeve: the mark she was ordered to slaughter is merely a child. Ahvi greets her calmly, revealing he already knew she came to kill him and expressing relief that she will not. He demonstrates his Mindweft abilities by acknowledging the violence she committed in the adjacent chamber moments before—a massacre she made no sound during. Ahvi mentions his previous escape attempt and explains that Kurth, apparently a sympathetic figure, helped him obtain the egg now in his care. When the egg jolts and Ahvi smiles at it, he produces a silver weald from his cloak pocket and whispers a single word: "Run." The instruction carries profound weight and fear.