Chapter 74

Kaan and the protagonist play a game of Skripi, a strategic card game with magical shards. Through the gameplay, both players reveal their emotional stakes—Kaan becomes increasingly distant and cold after losing, then makes a crude sexual proposition that the protagonist rejects. She instead asks him to dance, suggesting she wants emotional connection rather than physical intimacy.

The protagonist and Kaan play Skripi in what appears to be a private space. The game progresses competitively, with Kaan employing aggressive strategy by playing the woetoe to steal the protagonist's Moltenmaw shard and ending the game quickly with a final play. The protagonist counters with the smox, which transforms into a tick to kill Kaan's Sabersythe—a move that fulfills a promise written on her palm and releases her from some binding obligation. After this play, the atmosphere shifts; Kaan becomes noticeably cold and hardened. The protagonist deflects conversation about storing her gold and repaying debts. When Kaan makes a crude proposition to have sex immediately, she declines silently, internally reasoning that she wants emotional connection and the chance to love him—or at least give him a proper goodbye like someone from his past apparently did not receive. She then stands, approaches him, and asks him to dance instead, taking his hand despite his dismissive tone as he calls her by her prisoner designation.