Chapter 48

A tall, scarred male arrives at the dragon hutch riding a massive Sabersythe. He dismounts and locks eyes with the narrator, who wears an Aether Stone on her brow. After leaving and returning without his dragon, he questions her about Slátra's condition and her own wellbeing, but she refuses to answer, overwhelmed by exhaustion and despair.

The narrator is resting among Slátra's tail when guards lift the hutch gates to admit a large Sabersythe carrying a tall, broad male with an accent and numerous scars. Their eyes meet; the narrator notes he is striking and moves like a crumbling mountain. She makes no attempt to veil her face or hide the Aether Stone on her brow, as he has already seen her. The male withdraws his dragon but returns later and approaches the pair without his beast. Slátra does not growl this time. He asks about Slátra's eyes, when the narrator last ate, and whether she lives in the hutch. She provides no answers, unable to summon the energy to speak. She reflects on her exhaustion—tired of loss, of struggling to remove the diadem so she can access the power needed to reclaim her throne from the male who currently rules her kingdom. She is weary of being patronized by males who presume to know what is best for her and her realm.