Chapter 80

Raeve wakes chained in a feasting cavern with Kaan, imprisoned by Arkyn—revealed to be the Elding and Kaan's previously unknown half-brother. Arkyn torments them both, burning Raeve's magical braid, threatening violence, and disclosing his plot to usurp Kaan's throne using Raeve's past efforts in The Fade. He produces Elluin's diary, suggesting Raeve may have lost memories of her former self.

Raeve awakens shackled in a stone cavern with Kaan similarly bound and gagged across a long feasting table laden with candelabras and food. Arkyn approaches from behind—the Scavenger King—and reveals himself as Kaan's brother, mocking Kaan's silence while fixating on Raeve with possessive cruelty. Raeve recognizes the pale-brown parchment lark she previously saw, and Arkyn's interaction with it exposes him as the Elding—the mysterious figure she thought was helping people through The Flourish, the very place that has tortured her repeatedly. Arkyn burns Raeve's magical uhloo braid over a candle flame, asserting his ownership of her. A servant arrives with news of rune work on the fighting pits, and Raeve desperately hides her concern for Ahvi's safety by refusing to look. Arkyn reveals his scheme: he has been using Raeve as a tool since finding her years ago with a broken skull, orchestrating events in The Fade to eliminate threats and gather a beaded army to attack Kaan's forces and seize the bronze crown. He describes plans to make Raeve bear his heirs and threatens to burn her with a flame conjured from a weald. Instead, he forces her to eat by suffocating her, demonstrating total control. As the chapter closes, Arkyn dramatically sweeps food from the table and produces a diary bearing the image of Kaan's málmr—Elluin's diary—the version of Raeve that Kaan loved before her memories were lost.