Chapter 81

King Ostern confronts the protagonist about her relationship with Kaan, threatening violence against those she loves if she refuses to bind with Tyroth. He reveals he knows she is pregnant and demands she marry Tyroth so the child will be believed legitimate, trapping her in an impossible choice between her love and the safety of everyone around her.

After King Ostern's sons and daughter depart, guards chain the protagonist and bring her before the King in a bare room. Ostern accuses her of unseemly behavior with Kaan, declaring him unfit to rule because he can only wield two elemental songs. When she refuses and declares she will choose her own binding or give herself to the Creators, the King uses suffocation and threats to coerce her compliance. He threatens to kill Veya, have the twins hunt down and behead Kaan, and leave Slátra unguarded so she will kill herself trying to follow the protagonist. He then reveals he knows her bleeding is late—that she is pregnant. Ostern frames binding with Tyroth as the only way to ensure the child's survival; if Tyroth believes he fathered the child, all will be well. If she refuses, he promises they will hunt her and Kaan to the ends of the world for the dishonor brought upon their families. The protagonist accepts this tragic fate as the price of her great love, believing her story mirrors her parents' tragedy.