Title: Gilded Serpent
Author: Danielle L. Jensen
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Adventure
What It's About: Teriana watches as Urcon is sentenced and as Ereni botches his execution. Marcus is not a fan, but also realizes that he has to work with them so he lets them do it according to their customs. He then has Teriana count all the gold in the castle alongside the envoys from the other Arinoquian clans. They agree to those terms. Marcus receives a letter from the Queen of Katmarea, along with the letter Teriana had sent to her. He is unsure whether or not he can trust Teriana, now, along with Felix and Titus, because he is unsure who betrayed him according to Teriana. He meets the clans, gets tricked by by Ereni but still manages to negotiate nearly all the money from Urcon's coffers. Marcus then has Ereni come and they make an agreement that she takes over Urcon's land and establishes trade, of which he gets 30% to fund his men. Ereni then reveals that Teriana is akin to a princess of the Maarin. Marcus is shocked but then realizes that she has beads of gold in her hair--something that is reserved for someone of wealth, though she has no tiara.
Teriana visits Miki and Quinta's in the medical tent and finds out that Miki is going to be discharged because he's paralyzed from the legs down. Quintus is upset at that and that is why he's so moody. She also feels guilty because she hasn't told Marcus the truth about Ashok and so only she can tell that Miki looks closer to 30 than 19. She comes back to Marcus's tent and they get into an argument because she does not want Miki discharged and instead challenges him to find something else for him to do, but Marcus tells her that he'd be a liability to his men and would dampen morale. He then reveals that he's learnt she's a princess, and shows her the letter. Teriana owns up to having sent that one and one other letter to Gamdesh at the beginning of their arrival. She also admits to Marcus the truth about Ashok and the Marked Ones. Marcus leaves the tent in need of space and tells her that he won't be back that night. He wanders the streets of Aracham in the rain and then sits at the fountains. Servius finds him and they talk about why they haven't searched for the Xenither stems. Marcus asks him what if they don't look for them? Servius tells him that they will be found sooner or later and then what? But Servius admits that he does like it here. Marcus returns to the tent with Teriana and she asks him what happened to him not returning at all? They agree that they need to start working on building trust first, since they do not have that.
While Marcus was gone, Terinana tried to take a walk around camp and then went to the privy where she is met by a lady sent by Kaira of the Gamdesh. They talk and Astara tells Teriana that the Gamdeshi sent ships to Mudaire because of the attack by Derin. Astara tells her to keep watching, learning and to trust she'll know when the time is right. Then she shifts, and flies off having been blessed by Lern.
In the meantime, Killian looks for Malahi's body in the aftermath of the war, and he chances across Bercola who tries to explain to him why she did what she did to Lydia. She tells him that Lydia is corrupted and that she had fed that life to Bercola in the cave; that she had promised his father to look out for him, and this way she was trying to spare him having to kill Lydia later. Killian does not believe Lydia to be corrupted and tells Bercola to disappear for good--the next time he sees her, he will kill her. Bercola tells him that it is said that every one has a bit of the 6 and the Corrupter in them and leaves. Later, Killian sits at the fires and talks to with High Lady Dareena Falorn, his mentor, who asks if his grumpiness is due to Lydia. He tells her that he seems to be predisposed to have the girls in his care die. Dareena reminds him Lydia isn't dead and he says that she is as good as, now that she has been taken to Hegeria's temple to learn, and that the only reason she did that is to protect him. Dareena asks him if he thought that she did it because she also wanted to do it, and Killian thinks back to their discussion about her need to help the children, at which point he realizes he loves her.
Lydia returns to the temple with the Grand Healer, now having Hegeria's mark tattooed on her forehead. She washes herself and then meets with the Grand Healer, who explains the rules and how it will all work. He also tells her that she will start doing patrols in the city with the soldiers as Healers are the only ones who will be able to see those who are infected by the blight. When she doesn't believe him, he shows her a girl named Emmy--the one that she had healed in the sewers and the one that Killian had given his button to as a token of protection. Lydia tries to heal her, to no avail, and the girl gets mad saying that Killian failed. Lydia does two patrols and she can't stand watching it either time--vomiting as the soldiers kill those impacted by the blight. The second time though, she finds a mom that is suffering from the blight, who is technically dead though her corpse is animated. When her healing does nothing, the mom is killed, leaving the children as orphans and the neighbors scream at Lydia that she is a murderer. Lydia goes to the library to do some research on the blight, but then reorganizes the Library and falls asleep. She is found there by the Grand Master, who chastises her for breaking curfew, and tells her that organizing the library is not a priority but that she will have to do it on her own time to clean up the mess that she created. He then tells her that she's been summoned to meet with the King and that gets her hopes up that she will see Killian too.
Marcus wakes up due to the rain and realizes that he has curled around Teriana, which he enjoys. He has an engineer come and tell him to build something more permanent that will also keep the rain out. Then the doctor comes in along with Gibzen. Gibzen wants Quintus off his team because with Miki discharged, Quintus will lose it. The Doctor tells him that Quintus is fit to serve, but Gibzen doesn't want him on his team. Felix arrives as he is the primary person in charge of the men's assignment, and the debate keeps going about reassigning Quintus. Teriana asks him to be assigned to her guard and says she trusts Quintus which results in a pang in Marcus's chest because she doesn't trust him. He gets an idea but sends everyone off.
Teriana steps out with Servius and they barely leave camp before Servius has to leave her due to a brawl between the members of the 37th but in the meantime she also picks up on the tension within the 37th which is not present in the 41st and asks Servisu about it. Servius tells her that it's because the top brass are fighting and asks her to please help Marcus heal the rift with Felix.
They send the men off to the ship and Teriana says bye to Miki. Marcus speaks to Quintus alone, who admits that he wants to desert, and Marcus tells him that Teriana trusts him and wants him on her guard. He tells Quintus that if he does that, Marcus will change the books and give Quintus and Miki their freedom. Quintus agrees and becomes Tariana's guard.
One evening, while he is teaching Teriana how to defend herself, they hear an argument between Felix and Marcus, where Teriana can only make out her own name. Felix had come in with a report of how he reassigned the men, and they get into an argument because of how Marcus dismissed him followed by silence. Felix is confused as to what Marcus is about, when Marcus mentions selling him out, and Felix explains that he's been trying to get rid of Teriana because it is obvious that Marcus has been making decisions based on her and not the men first. Marcus tells him that he will punish him and Felix says that if that's what he feels should happen, then to do it, but points out that he's done so much for him and hasn't gotten anything else in return.
Marcus also accuses Felix of instigating a brawl between the 37th at the mess hall, which he found out from his men after questioning them. They said it was the Tribunus, which Marcus took to mean Felix. Felix explains that the men of the 41st were taunting the 37th by saying that if Titus was in charge, he would have found the Xenither stems by now.
Gibzen interrupts them both and tells them that they have found the xenither terminus that one of the path hunters had come through--it was a man that went through one of the Xenither genesis stems in Bardeen, not too far from the camp the 37th army had been at. He had given the description of the location before succumbing to his severe injuries.
Marcus has the men pack up, along with Teriana and Quintus and heads towards the lost city. When they get there, they meander through the city which appears to have been abandoned decades ago. Teriana steps in Madoria's temple and prays to Madoria that she help guide her and finds a way out for Quintus. Together with Marcus and Quintus, she checks out the Xenither stem. Marcus throws a rock at it, when she tries to reach out and touch it, telling her to make sure that it is a Terminus not a Genesis so that she does not end up anywhere else.
Teriana goes for a swim in the water with Quintus and he admits to her that he was going to desert but that he cannot desert there. After he tells her that Marcus will change the books for Quintus and Miki, shetells him to come find her and Quincense once all of it is done, and she will find a way to help Miki. They even challenge each other to climb.
Lydia goes to meet the King, but Killian isn't there. The Grand Master and the King's healer get debating about Emmy, the girl who is a walking corpse. Lydia speaks to the King, telling him to move all the soldiers out because they can be infected by the blight. She argues that they need to find a way to heal them, when they first get infected because even if they are dead, these people are only dead in the eyes of the healers. To everyone else, they look like they've recovered and are themselves, so people think that the healers are murdering them. The King agrees to let her do research and find a cure but in the meantime, they will continue killing those who are dead.
Lydia leaves, hoping to find Killian, but is followed by Dareena Falorn. The ladies talk in Dareena's room, about Killian but also about how to resolve this issue--Lydia needs ill people, but no one will come to them considering what the healers have been doing, and worse yet, they may not want to tell anyone when loved ones get sick. Dareena gives her Lena and Gwen as guards and tells her that they will help search for these people. The three head back to the temple, settle in and then they go to the Library, after which Lydia explains what she needs. The two girls head out, and Dareena comes by, telling Lydia that the King did not decide to move the army out. Once Lena and Gwen come back, they go to sleep, and Lydia daydreams about Killian--them being together in bed. She then dreams that she's being chased by someone in the sewers and when she comes across a dead end with blight, she turns around only to see herself with corrupted eyes.
Killian makes his way to Rotahn as King Serrick had sent them because raiders from Anukastre had raided the town. Finn is now Killian's squire and they head to the city/ village where they meet Princes Ria Rowenes, who is Malahi's cousin. Finn and Killian go take a bath and Killian sends Finn out. He then tries to submerge himself under the water to silence his thoughts of Lydia. When he surfaces, he comes face to face with Ria, who tries to come on to him and seduce him. Luckily, Finn comes in and makes up a story that the seamstresses needed Killian for fittings, so he leaves the bath. He gets dressed in clothes that are entirely too tight, and goes to meet Sonia, his lieutenant. Finn gets Killian to agree to give him a sword, and Sonia tells Killian that Finn just wants to spend time with him--his mother and father are dead, and Killian is the only one that had given a shit about the boy since.
They go to the hall and eat. When Ria joins them, she apologizes to Killian for her actions and asks to talk in private. She tells him that she was trying to seduce him to give him a reason to stay in Rotahn because she managed to convince her uncle to send help but he does not care for the place like she does. And they will help, warn of the Anukastre, and then once the Anuk retreat, the army will be called away and the whole cycle will start again. Ria wants a permanent solution to this as it is the miners that pay with their lives. Killian agrees to help them once he realizes who is paying for it. Killian does repel the Anuk raiders, who do not seem to want to stop and retreat. The commander at Rotahn says that they need to let them retreat, and both Killian and Sonia say that the Anuk seem to want to continue fighting. Then, at one of the raids, Killian catches a young boy, who spits at him and tells him that he is a child murderer.
So Killian and Sonia follow a contingent of the Rowenes men and find that they have been dressing up and putting on Killian's emblem. Killian is horrified and realizes the threat was much closer to home so he returns to the castle, rouses Ria, who in turn tells him that it was all part of a plan to discredit him as her uncle hates all the marked ones, which is why he has created mandates to enslave them. After all, the King could not kill Killian after the way they reveled the Derin army at the ford. He realizes Malahi was right and he wants to go tell the High Lords about it, but Ria reminds him that war has started and her people will suffer, but he can help them. Killian, on his way way to the castle had a feeling of horror and fear in his stomach, which he realizes is Lydia in danger.
Lydia has been given just until the arrival of the ships with the healers to figure out a cure by King Serrick. They would then destroy the city, kill those infected by blight and force evacuation on everyone else. She feels like she had failed as the ship arrives though she is no closer to solving the problem. It so happens that Lena falls sick, and Lydia has Gwen call for Dareena. In the meantime, Lydia realizes that using Hegeria's mark to push spreads the blight faster. So instead, she pulls the blight into herself. Dareena makes it in time to see Lena still very ill from the blight, and Lydia save her. She rushes Lydia to the Grand Master telling him that Lydia has healed the blight and found the cure when he tries to kill her. Once Lydia feels strong enough to wander, she tries to visit the Grand Master.
She finds him in Emmy's room and he's dead as are the two guards. So she runs and finds King Serrick also suffering from the blight like the rest of the army. Cyntha comes by, once he pleads Lydia to kill him, and tells her that Lydia's cure forced the whole process of getting everyone sick. Cyntha also reveals that their marks can be used to heal but also to serve the Corrupter, if they want to use it. Cyntha turns out to be Rufina, and King Serrick's corpse reanimates. Lydia escapes to the Library and barricades herself there without a way out. Dareena saves her by throwing a rope and Lydia climbs from one tower to the other. They make their way to a Maarin ship and Lydia finds out as much as she can about Teriana and the legions. She and Dareena discuss next steps and how to save Malahi because Cyntha had told her that she is still alive but is being forced to user her powers in bad ways.
After the climb, Teriana and Quinus dive down. Marcus gets scared that she has been pulled down, when Teriana doesn't surface, only to find her next him. She pulls him into the water, when he goes to assist her and he decides, for once to let loose. Later that day, Teriana gambles with the others at a table and ultimately its I between her and one other. The soldier pulls up a cell coin, and she tracks it; he tell her that he got it from the girls at the brothel. Once they go to sleep, she looks at the coin a little closer and realizes that the coin has Lucius's likeness, alongside with never having been in circulation. Doing the math--coins are not released until a certain time after the person receives the consulship--making it impossible to have been released at the time that they left Cel. She wakes up Marcus and they go to talk in the woods, with Marcus giving strict orders that if he's not back in 30 minutes, to come looking for him. He realizes the same thing that she did, and she points out that maybe Lucius is the only one who had access to those coins. That in turn means that Felix did not do it, which is a relief for Marcus but also causes him a lot of anguish because he believes that what he said to Felix is unforgivable. They hear something, and suddenly they are chased by a tiger. The two of them run to Lern's temple, where the tiger follows alongside with a group of people--the tribe who lived in the lost city. They tell him that they have heard of him from the man who came here before him, and order Teriana and Marcus to be killed. The floor in the temple starts shifting and they find themselves in quicksand heading towards a Xenither stem, and Marcus decides to take them both through it. The tiger comes along as well, and suddenly all three of them find themselves in snow--in Sibern--where the tiger shifts into a man as Lern's magic ended now that they are in the land of no believers.
The trio is set upon by Sibernese wolves and Teriana kills the shifter to give Marcus and her better chances at survival. They get into a shack and Marcus stabs a wolf with his glades, because it was trying to break through. Once they've secured their shack, he starts to fall apart--they are in Siberian, in the winter with no clothes and no way of getting out. Marcus panics that Titus will take over his men and that he will be seen as a deserter. Teriana tries to help but she also realizes that there is nothing they can do. Once she falls asleep, Marcus becomes aware that the wolf he stabbed is out there and a plan forms in his mind.
They kill the wolf, skin it and preserve the meat. That night, the other wolves in the pack want to come after them, so they start digging. Marcus and Teriana fight back, using the stove, then they begin the trek of 20 miles each day to the next shack during daylight hours. At one point, Teriana nearly gives up and lets herself go, as the wolves come upon them. No amount of pleading from Marcus makes her want to move, until a second pack of wolves comes out and fights the first pack that has been following them.
Lydia arrives in Rotahn and gives a fake name--Gwen. She asks to be taken to Killian but the guard tells her to speak to Ria first. The princess tells her that she shouldn't bother, the rainfall is leading to flooding and so Killian's camp will be empty for the next two months. Suddenly news comes that the Anukastre force is pretty big and Killian is requesting reinforcements, which changes Ria's mind and she tells Lydia to go with them.
Killian is at the ridge preparing to hold back the Anukastre forces long enough. Suddenly, Not in, a shifter who often scouted for Dareena shows up and tells him the message that Hegeria's temple and all those within it have been lost to the blight, and Dareena is missing. He is distraught beyond words because of how much he cared for and loved Lydia. Sonia sets him right, and they go to fight. He manages to hold off some of the Anukastre folks, and is trapped between one rive and his own army when he hears Sonia calling for him, sounding a lot like Lydia.
Lydia manages to make it to camp to see Finn, who is surprised to see her and he tells her that Killian thinks that she is dead. She rushes until she sees Killian and calls for him. Then she has her horse jump and land by Killian, where she puts herself between Killian and the Anukastre army that is lead by the boy that spat at Killian. This boy turns out to be Prince Adrian, and he does not believe Killian's words. He also tries to capture Lydia and kill Killian, but they manage to escape. Once they are pulled up, Killian goes to take command of the Mudamoran army, and Lydia goes to heal the injured, realizing that this is where she is meant to be. She returns to camp, and Finn gives her a hug, saying it's much better with her around. She steps into Killian's messy tent, puts on one of his shirts and then lays down in bed. Killian comes in, and is surprised by her. She tells him what has happened with the King and in Mudaire, and that Cyntha is Rufina. She replies to one of Killian's comments with "but you should know I felt your absence keenly," and he asks if that is why she is here, to which she replies yes. Suddenly, they are kissing and he undresses her. Killian starts kissing her down her body, when Lydia realizes that if she doesn't tell him about Malahi, she will hurt him. So she tells him that Malahi is alive and that Rufina is using her to create more blight, having found out from King Serrick that Malahi is a tender. Killian tells her that she should have lead with that and then leaves the tent.
He rides away and tries to clear his mind about what he should do because he is warring with himself, between his duty to Malahi and his feelings for Lydia. When he returns, he tells Sonia, Finn and Lydia the plan--they are to march south to Serlani to join Dareena and the rest of their armies. Lydia argues that she will go with him because he will need her for her healing capabilities. Sonia tells Lydia that Killian has been angry and different for a while, and shows him starring with Finn, which is the only time he is his old self and tells Lydia that she will have to bring him back. Lydia and Killian begin the trek to Derin and sometimes they ride in silence, but sometimes they talk. Killian tells her that he was meant to protect the child of then King Falorn, and how he got marked by Tremon. But he never spoke his oath to the princess because the Royal family had gotten attacked by the Corrupted and both the Queen and the baby had disappeared.
They make it into Derin, find a village and see mounds that are creating the sludge known as the blight. No one stops them as they walk their way through the town, into a tavern and get a room. Then Lydia and Killian sit down and eat. Their time at the table gets interrupted by a man and a giant. The man introduces himself as Agrippa and Lydia can tell that he is undoubtedly Cel. The pair accuse Killian of stealing and cheating at cards, and so he fights against the giant until he wins but at the cost of numerous injuries. He sent Lydia up to their room and proceeds to drink with the two. Turns out that they want him for the job of getting through the Liratona Mountains. Agrippa mentions that the Queen has a tender who seems to be refusing her plea to use her power at a different portion of the country, which Killian thinks is Malahi.
In the meantime, Lydia sneaks out and starts looking around the mounds, and goes inside all five of them hoping to find Malahi, as she has found a person inside the first one. But none of them contain Malahi, so she tries to cut one of the women out of the mounds, and she ends up dying, with the mound going dark. Lydia makes her way back to the hotel and is in the room when Agrippa and the giant bring Killian up having used a corrupted to help heal Killian just enough. Lydia wakes him up after he falls asleep and tells him what she found out and that Agrippa is Cel--most likely has a legion number. Killian tells her that Malahi is elsewhere and then falls back asleep.
They wake up the next day and Lydia refuses to cure his hangover. They go down to meet Agrippa who is up early and who makes a comment that he has woken up early all his life, so he can't help it. Then the giant comes tumbling down the stairs. He had admitted to Killian that he is a summoner, which explains why the giants hadn't attacked since Killian was a child, and in particular he had been asked by Rufina to destroy the xenither stem that gets them between the village and the other side of the Liratoras so that's why they need Killian to help them cross it.
Marcus and Teriana make it to the Siberian Teeth, and Teriana tries to convince him to go around even if she knows it will take longer because of Marcus's fear of heights. But he commands her to climb and so they climb. At one point, Marcus is so overrun with fear that Teriana manages to tell him what to do; to command him, and he does willingly give up the control. Then they make it to the part of a bridge where it is a tightrope with two ropes on the side. Teriana creates a harness for him and he manages to walk a portion if it before passing out because of his fear. Luckily, he's close and Teriana slides him the rest of the way. Marcus then tells her all the codes she will need in order to set her people friend says that he's not likely to make it since there are eight more of those types of bridges. The next day, Teriana uses the narcotics that she palmed from him, and drugs Marcus, apologizing to him. She creates a litter and gets him through all 8 bridges. The last bridge, however, is terrifying even for her--they are so close to the end, when three of the four cables snap off and Teriana and Marcus slip back to the middle. She uses the side of the ravine to make it through to the other side, and then the two of them find shelter.
When Marcus wakes up, he is disoriented and in a different cave. Teriana does not answer his questions, so he checks it out and finds that they are on the other side of the ravine, and all eight of the bridges are finished. He catches some mice and cooks them for Teriana who eats them with him once she wakes up. She also tells him the story of how she managed to get them there.
When they have enough strength, they make their way to the nearby town, and bat, then enjoy the winter festival--playing games and living a little. Marcus realizes that it will be hard to go back to the Legions after this. The festivities are interrupted by a legionnaire approaching and telling the village that they are celebrating past curfew. They recognize Marcus as a citizen and let him go, when he reveals he is one and that he is on a mission for his dad. Teriana, having been a bit farther away from him when they were all told to go down, had hidden behind a cart. But Marcus cannot find her, as she has disappeared, so he heads to his room with the idea of grabbing his glades to go out and find her. Except, she is in the room, having gotten there with the help of the children. She asks him to do something about it to stop the villagers from paying fines and Marcus tells her that he could use his position to stop this but that the retribution will be worse tomorrow when the Legionnaires come back.
Killian and Lydia, using the aliases Tom and Gertrude, head out with Agrippa and the giant, as well as several people on a boat. Baird, the giant, uses his summoning powers to break the ice on the river and bring more water. They take the boat and along the route to their first camp, Killian sees that the wild men will try to ambush them by boarding. One of the women traveling with them gets shot with an arrow and Lydia does her best to stop the flow without using her powers. Killian goes over and onto land to then ambush the wild men. They get to a camp and at one point Agrippa mentions that they should stuff their ears so that they do not hear the beasts in the forest. They first hear crying and a child calling out to them. Agrippa tells them that those are the Mimics and throws a burning stick to show a beast with sharp claws and fangs. After that, Lydia and Killian cuddle up, keeping the pretense under which they found themselves in Derin, and fall asleep. Lydia is startled awake by Marcus's voice, which is being used by the Mimics to speak to Agrippa. She is shocked because she doesn't understand how the mimics can use the voice of someone they'd never see. The mimic accuses Agrippa of deserting the 37th legion in Cel and Agrippa answers. He is about to do something and Lydia tells him to stop in Cel, which surprises him. She tells him he is not the only one who had fallen through the Xenither stem, and asks if he cannot ask for forgiveness after he reveals that he ended up near Arinoquia. He tells her that she wouldn't understand why the legions beat their brothers to death, and she goes back to sleep.
Killian is woken up by Baird and the Mimics use Lydia's and Malahi's voices to guild him about what he did. He is unable to look Lydia in the eye thereafter, though he wants to walk up next to her and fall asleep next to her.
They go to the next location, and this time the wild men manage to overturn the boat. The girl traveling with her parents and her brother falls into the rapids and Agrippa goes after her. Killian tells Lydia to cut the ropes that the wild men are using to keep the boat overturned and he goes after them. A fight ensures, and Agrippa comes to his aid, the two men fighting back to back. Lydia goes for the young girl and Agrippa is the one that makes it in time to protect the two from the arrow that the wild men shoot at her. Lydia uses her mark to heal the girl and Agrippa but Killian refuses her aid because she had already used up a lot of her magic. The mom of the girl tells her that she should've let Agrippa die because he delivers Marked Ones to Rufina, but Lydia could not see herself doing that. At the next camp, the group works to create the site, telling Lydia to rest, but once the mimics show up, they all turn on each other--starting with the parents of the kids, where the mimics make them think that the woman does not value her husband and thinks poorly of him. The mimics start using voices the others know, and one of the men heads out of the circle. Lydia tries to pull him back and with Killian's help, she does, but the man is dead--half of him gone. As people keep arguing, Lydia comes up with a plan and executes itty putting the nettles into the fires, causing the gas to go into the camp and knock everyone unconscious. She manages to put more fuel on the fire and then she cuddles up with the kids and dreams. Her dream has her hearing a man say that Liam (Killian's father) had said the boy had gotten marked by Tremon, and that they should betroth their three year old daughter to the boy. The woman calls him Derrick and tells him to give them time--it's hard to get the boy to sit still. Suddenly, someone comes in--Cyntha--accusing Derrick, the King, of kicking her out of the bed they shared and replacing her with the woman. The King realizes that she is corrupted and he tells Camilla to run. She only gets to the windowsill when Cyntha is upon her, asking if she'd be wanting to die first or watch her baby die. Camilla says neither, and that she will save her. She jumps with the baby into the water, then finds her ways through the halls until they hit a Xenither stem. They climb a hill, and get to the doors of a senatorial home, where the woman collapses and they get the Senator--Valerius. She tells him to keep the girl safe as she is Princess Kitariya Falorn, and to tell her that her mother loved her. Then the woman dies, and Lydia screams for her mother. She is awoken by Agrippa and Killian moves to her in order to see if she's okay. She tells him that dawn is coming soon, so they must sleep, but she finally knows who she truly is.
They finally make it to the safe village, where everyone heads off. Killian decides to go with Agrippa and Baird, telling Lydia that Agrippa will turn on them but that he wants to keep his eye on him for that reason. They enter the village and are met by the men from the brawl, and Agrippa tells Killian he has known who he was from the outset because he had seen him in the battle at Adler Ford. Killian tells Lydia to run and then starts fighting the men. He gets through many of them, but there are just too many for him to fight off, and Agrippa joins him. Turns out that the guy grew a conscience and decided to not go through with killing Killian. Bait shows up with Lydia and they make the plan to head into the city where Rufina is holding Malahi.
The plan is for Agrippa to go with Killian in chains and get Malahi out while Killian stays behind to kill Rufina. Lydia thinks it is a dumb plan and tells them so. She ultimately breaks down and tells Killian that she loves him. He tells her that he loves her back, and that he wishes that circumstances were different so that he could be with her. Instead he has to save and protect Mudamora's hope.
Lydia asks Agrippa if he knows one of the famous battles in Celendor's history, and tells him her plan sot hat Killian will have a higher chance of coming out alive. She tells him that Rufinna will not drop her guard around Killian, but she will drop her guard around Lydia.
In the meantime, Teriana and Marcus use a boat to get to Calendar, but ditch it on the outskirts to walk all the way to the city. They stop for a moment and Teriana tells him that she's willing to go to the Senate and tell them he's dead--so that he'd be free of the Legions because she loves him. She asks him how different would it be if he fought for something he believed in. Marcus goes away to think it through and when he comes back, Teriana has been caught by the 29th. They are taken to Hostus, the legates of the 29th and Marcus's former mentor. He threatens to kill Teriana and then Teriana gets the upper hand when the Commandant shows up and whisks them away to Lescendor.
There, Marcus gets cleaned up and placed back into legatus regalia. He tells Commandant Wes how he found himself back here, and Wes tells him that Hostus is Cassius's right hand man. Marcus realizes that this means nothing good for the citizens of Calendar. Teriana, in the meantime, talks to some of the boys, regaling them with tales of Marcus defeating Urcon and the battle of Aracham. Marcus tells the boys that some of that isn't real, and beams when he sees that one of the boys had beaten his highest score in one of the subjects. Marcus makes the boy's acquaintance and asks him if wants the 51st to join him on his trip back to the Dark Shores.
They ride to the city and Marcus hates being in the Chariot, which is meant for him to show his triumph. They get in front of the Senate, and Cassius is nowhere to be seen. Instead, he arrives late with Hostus and talks to Teriana first. Then, the two men go int and have a session of the Senate, where Marcus tells them as much as he can--withholding the knowledge of the marked ones--about his time in the Dark shores and how they got back through Siberian. Cassius pulls out the agreement that Marcus had made with Teriana about finding viable Xenither paths. He asks Marcus if he thinks the one in Siberian is viable. Marcus says yes, but the Senators agree that it is not, even when he vehemently argues that they could lead through there. Except, they are not prepared for the winter. They leave the topic of providing more supplies until the next day, and Valerius offers to take Teriana to his home, while Senator Domitus offers to take Marcus.
Marcus walks with his father home, who does not apologize to him for switching his identity with that of his younger brother, instead saying that it's saved him. When he gets home, he sees two girls arguing with a servant and his father introduces them to him--they are his two youngest sisters, now of whom was a toddler and the other was a baby, when he was sent to the camp. He then sees his mother, who throws herself at his feet, and apologizes to him. He starts to have a panic attack and Cordelia shows up slightly pregnant, hauling their mother off the floor and telling her to stop with the dramatics. From there, Cordelia takes him to Gaius's old room. She tells him that she needs to speak with him alone about Lydia. He changes and then heads down to his family, finally meeting Tribunus, Cordelia's husband. They all about what they can do to unseat Cassius, and about the family secret. Gaius acts up, but is told to shut up by all of the family. Marcus tells them that he's already made his decision--they just have to make theirs. Cordelia tells him that it is his secret to share, not hers, when he tells her that she should've gone and revealed it--but it's not so easy when it's her life on the line, is it?
The conversation becomes too much for him, so he goes to the garden, and Cordelia follows him, giving news of Lydia--that Valerius believes she is dead. She asks him if he killed Lydia and he says yes. Cordelia then tells him to end it with the Maarin girl and when Marcus says no, she asks him what will Teriana do when she realizes that he killed her best friend? This was after she reveals that it was very obvious to the Senate that he favors the Maarin and that Lydia had a best friend she considered a sister.
Teriana goes with Valerius and he tells her that he cannot do anything to put her in the same place as her mom, but he can send a message. Teriana had seen that Marcus apologized to her at the Senate, and found out from Valerius that her agreement had not been fulfilled because Siberian is not considered viable. When they get to his home, Teriana races up to the library to face Lydia and yell at her for betraying them, but the library is empty. Valerius comes and tells her that Lydia is dead or at least he suspects she is because the story does not make sense based on what has been told to him. He makes mention that Lydia is the daughter of a woman who saved him in his darkest hours, and mentions that Marcus seems pretty close to Cassius--maybe she can find out from Marcus what the truth is. He lets her stay in Lydia's room, where Teriana cannot find a trace of Lydia's smell. She sneaks out and heads over to the Domitus villa, getting into the garden, where she comes face to face with Marcus, who in turn tells her that he was going to find her. She asks him if he knows what's happened to Lydia?
Killian gets taken to Rufina by Agrippa, who wants the 5,000 golden coins and his freedom in exchange. She tells him no chance as she doesn't have anyone else to lead her army. He tells her that now she does, and Rufina says that Killian won't do it for her because he's not able to be corrupted. Agrippa tells her that he can give her the woman that Killian loves, who is none other than Kitaryia Falorn.
Lydia and Bait get into the fortress and go to change Malahi, who does not want to leave with Lydia, and they exchange words. Rufina shows up with Killian and Agrippa in tow, and Lydia realizes that he had sold them out. He also tells Lydia that the mimics reflect their deepest memories, feelings and thoughts, including who they once were. Killian looks at her in complete bewilderment. Rufina has Killian placed in the dungeons and takes Lydia up to a different room, where she tells her how she came to betray King Derrick, and why she became so corrupted. Suddenly, a woman runs in and tells Rufina something that has the queen snarling and heading out--turns out that Agrippa had stolen something from her. Lydia asks for water from the woman now guarding her, and then sucks her life dry.
Killian sits in the cell silently until a guard comes running check if Killian had escaped. He says that Malahi had been kidnapped and Killian realizes that Agrippa had kidnapped her. He realizes now that he needs to save Lydia, so he uses his lock pick and unlocks his chains, after which he kills both of his guards. Rufina shows up, demanding to know Killian's plan and escape route with Agrippa and when Killian doesn't tell her, she threatens to bring Lydia and have her tortured to get the information out of him. Before he's able to answer, Lydia shows up, her eyes black pits and Rufina laughs that she's under the power of the Corrupter--it will only get worse from there. Killian gets himself out of the cell to help Lydia and then he gets Rufina in, locking her in his cell. Lydia is feral, wanting revenge. The two of them escape through a grate into the water, and Lydia is furious that she couldn't get her vengeance on Rufina for what she did to her parents. She's very negative and tells Killian that he should have gone after Malahi, who he is sworn to protect. He tells her that he was sworn to protect her--that while he may have not said the words to her in person, he had always said the words of the oath to her in his heart. They grab a boat, get on it, and Killian has to knock Lydia out in order for her to not fight him as she continues to be under the control of the Corrupter and wants revenge.
Marcus lies to Teriana saying that he was not the one who gave the order to kill Lydia. Suddenly, there is screaming in the Domitus household and he tells Teriana to go back to the Valerius household He goes in to find men from the 29th dressed in civilian clothing holding his family hostage, demanding to know where he is. A threat to kill Cordelia, has Marcus's mother telling them where his and so he kills the men. The last one is Hostus's second in command, and Marcus continues to bash him over the head, until Commandant Wee arrives and tells him that Cassius ordered and assassination attempt on Marcus. He gives him a letter and tells him that eh will have to get to Bardeen and may deal with the 29th there.
Teriana gets back to the Valerius household and wants to help Marcus but is forced to stay with Valerius. Marcus arrives and tells her that he is leaving but that she must stay here and asks Valerius to protect her. He then tells her that he is leaving her because he loves her more than life and she must be safe. He leaves and Teriana falls to the floor, crying and then steels herself. When she returns to the foyer, she asks the legates of the 51st if he would rather be under the Command of the 29th. When the boy says that the would rather avoid that fate, she tells Valerius to set up a meeting with Cassius.
Marcus rides to various forts, going in through xenither stem after xenither stem. He gets to Bardeen just barely ahead of the 29th and gets out through the stem to Arinoquia by the skin of his teeth. He then passes out, something that is not necessarily unusual if you go through multiple Xenither Stems. When he comes to, Titus is above him, and tells him that he arrived in Civilian clothing without any gold or letter that Marcus claims to have. And he says that as a deserter, he will be going to the 37th where he will face Felix, and that the legion has changed a lot.
My Thoughts: Holy moly cannoli is this one a bit intense at the four different stories colliding and happening at the same time in different places. But still, the story is so good, and I really love how Lydia's true name comes out, and that she was always the one Killian was meant to protect. I cannot wait to see where the story goes next in the next installment of the book, that is coming out this year. Hopefully, Teriana saves Marcus and the Legion, and that Teriana and Lydia meet again on this side of the Dark Shores, where they fight back against Cel and the Corrupted, together. Can't wait!
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