Chapter 21

The narrator is imprisoned in a cell when a hooded male—revealed to be a Vaegor king—visits to trade a Sabersythe tusk for a moonshard from her cellmate Wrook. Upon recognizing the narrator's voice and seeing her scarred forehead, he becomes emotionally charged, but guards arrive to escort her to trial before the Guild of Nobles. The narrator departs the cell with the King's intense stare following her.

The narrator passes time in her cell by playing a game with dripping water while her cellmate Wrook scratches at the wall. A robed figure arrives to trade a Sabersythe tusk for Wrook's moonshard; Wrook accepts the deal. The figure passes the narrator's cell, stops, and stares at her. When she speaks, he recognizes her voice and breaks into her cell. He reveals a Sabersythe flame weald, traces scars on her forehead and eye with dragonflame, and calls her "Moonbeam," suggesting he knows her from before. The narrator insists they've never met. A Truthtune in an adjacent cell confirms the narrator's claim. The King attempts to inspect her wounds, but guards arrive to escort her to trial, referring to her as their "most dangerous captive" who killed soldiers and a bounty hunter in the Undercity. The King identifies himself as a healer to the guards, though his true identity is revealed when one calls him "Sire." He is later recognized as one of the three Vaegor kings—either Tyroth of The Shade or Kaan of The Burn. Before she is led away, the King cryptically states he has "found the most important piece" he was searching for. The narrator is marched toward her trial, aware that execution likely awaits.