A Reaper at the Gates

Laia and her brother Darin, who was recently freed from prison, are in the middle of a raid. They are in a Martial village close to Antium and the Waiting Place, but the village looks empty. Laia becomes invisible, a newly acquired power, and goes to unlock the ghost wagons containing prisoners. Laia and Darin, alongside Afya Ara-Nur and her people, have freed over 400 imprisoned Scholars and Tribesmen in the past two months.

While the soldiers are busy settling camps, Laia tries to unlock the first wagon. She thinks about Elias, who was supposed to come over from the Waiting Place and help them with the raid. Laia wonders if Shaeva found out Elias helped Laia rescue Darin. She hopes he is not being punished. Normally, Laia would not risk so much, but these caravans hold Mamie Rila and the Saif people, who sacrificed their freedom so Laia could rescue Darin.

Once she has opened all the locks, the Tribespeople kill the Martial soldiers with poisoned darts. Laia’s allies do not have Serric steel blades, and without Serric blades, the Tribespeople’s blades cannot stand against Martial weapons. Laia hears shouting and fighting and runs to see Afya’s fighters battling Empire soldiers. Laia notices the soldiers die quickly and surmises someone else must be helping them. Darin informs her that Mamie Rila is not in the caravans, and Laia assumes that Mamie Rila is in the village. Since Laia has the power of invisibility, she offers to find her. She insists on going alone. In the village, she finds Mamie Rila tied to a chair. Just then, a hand locks around her mouth, and another arm wrenches her hands back.

Elias is on his way to escaping the Waiting Place when he is caught by Shaeva, who chastises him for sneaking away rather than focusing on his training as a Soul Catcher. Shaeva drags Elias away to the “red jinn grove” (15) where the jinn are imprisoned; Elias hates it here because the jinn get inside his mind.

Shaeva constructs wards around the grove, instructing Elias to soothe a ghost child. Elias insists on helping the others, and Shaeva says she will let him go if he can help the ghost child. Elias tries to protect his mind against the jinn, but they taunt him with thoughts of his loved ones dying. Unlike Shaeva, he cannot channel the magic of the Waiting Place to quieten them. Elias asks what will happen if he cannot help the ghosts pass from the Waiting Place. Shaeva tells him that the human world will end. She advises him to let go of the human world and embrace his role as Soul Catcher, pointing out that Mauth, who is Death itself and the source of all fey power, will help him if Elias embraces the Waiting Place. Elias points out that magic does not come easily to him since he is mortal.

Shaeva shares that she is worried about the increasing number of ghosts and the Nightbringer’s plans. Elias again pleads to help his friends and family. Shaeva warns him not to die, since she will not be able to revive him again, and lets him go. As soon as Elias leaves the Waiting Place, he feels Mauth’s magic pulling at him, urging him to turn back. He resists and goes to the village. Noticing how quiet it is, Elias realizes he has stepped into a trap.

Helene restrains and subdues Laia. Helene has been ordered to quell Commandant Keris Veturia by the Emperor Marcus. If she fails, Marcus will kill Helene’s only remaining family, her sister Livia, the empress. Captains Avitas Harper and Dex Atrius are with Helene, and Helene orders them to secure the perimeter. Helene tells Laia she will remove the gag is Laia does not scream. However, Laia immediately accuses Helene of being a monster since Mamie Rila has clearly been tortured. Helene slaps Laia to quieten her but feels horrible. Helene healed Laia previously and has a bond with her; the Nightbringer had warned Helene of the consequences of using her gift.

Regardless, Helene must capture Laia, who has been spearheading the raids. Helene has hidden the raids from the empire because Marcus’s power is tenuous, and the various Tribes and Clans are displeased with the empire as well. However, Helene lies and says she is not here for Laia. Laia realizes that Helene also wants Elias.

Elias arrives and tells Helene to stop what she is doing, but Helene knows she must capture both Elias and Laia. The two try to negotiate. Elias tells Helene that if she lets Mamie Rila and Laia go, he will go with her. However, Helene will only let Mamie Rila go; she needs both Elias and Laia. Elias tells Helene his conditions: “You will let Laia down […]. You will not gag me. And you’ll keep your bleeding distance, Blood Shrike” (30). Helene thinks about what her father said before his death: “You are all that holds back the darkness” (30). She knows that she must be cruel for everyone’s sake.

Harper takes Mamie Rila and leaves her in a safe location. Laia wonders how she and Elias can escape when Dex announces that their horses are gone. Elias confirms he let the horses go. Helene tells Dex to find more horses. Elias tells Helene that using him to find his mother will not work. He tells Helene to find his grandfather, Quin, who will know how to defeat Keris. Helene shares her suspicion that Keris and the Nightbringer are planning something. She does not have time to chase Quin Veturius. When Helene turns away from them, Laia creates a distraction by kicking Harper on his foot. Elias attacks Helene, while Harper drags Laia back. Helene stabs Elias with a knife. Shaeva appears then disappears with the wounded Elias. Helene keeps Laia at knifepoint and demands to know where Elias went; Laia explains that Elias is the new Soul Catcher.

Helene observes that it would be more merciful to kill Laia than take her to Marcus, but Harper unbinds Laia’s wrists and quietly tells her to leave. Laia realizes she and Helene have similar pain since both of their families were killed by the Empire. She gives her condolences to Helene, then turns invisible and escapes from the cottage.

In Shaeva’s cabin in the Waiting Place, Elias experiences a vision of hanging over an ocean. A voice in his head warns him of the coming darkness.

Elias wakes and remembers that Laia was left in danger. He tries to leave the cabin and comes across a ghost called The Wisp, who asks him about her “lovey” (39). Shaeva enters and informs Elias that he is still recovering and should be in bed. Elias tries to ask about Mamie Rila and Laia, but Shaeva warns him to stop getting distracted from his duties. Elias implies he cannot live without human contact and that he loves Laia, and Shaeva sympathizes with him. She once loved someone, too, and ignored her duties, which caused a lot of suffering. She warns Elias that love cannot be a reality for Soul Catchers. Elias asks for a day to get his affairs in order. Shaeva gives him a few hours.

However, before Elias can leave, Shaeva has a dark vision about the future: “The executioner has arisen. The traitor walks free. Beware! The Reaper approaches, flames in his wake, and he shall set this world alight” (42). Elias tries to help Shaeva, but she tells him to remember everything she said. Shaeva warns Elias that soon he will suffer the consequences of his vow to her and asks him not to hate her. The chapter ends with Elias realizing that the Nightbringer has arrived in the Waiting Place.

Helene, Harper, and Dex arrive at Antium. Helene fears how Marcus will hurt Livia for their failures. After Dex and Harper leave, she goes to see Marcus, who sits on his throne, Livia beside him, hiding her bruises with makeup. When Helene kneels, Marcus orders the guards to clear the room. He then shows Helene a letter sent by Keris asking for more soldiers to help with raids in Navium. Marcus yells that Keris is planning something. He accuses Helene of incompetence and failing in her duties as Blood Shrike. As a punishment, Marcus breaks Livia’s fingers in front of Helene.

Marcus orders Helene to go to Navium and overthrow Keris. Marcus wants this accomplished by the Grain Moon, which is in five months. He asks for reports every three days, and if he is unsatisfied with Helene’s progress, he vows to break more of Livia’s bones.

After running for hours, Laia finally reaches Afya and Darin. Mamie Rila is being treated for her injuries, and Afya’s Tribe is taking the freed prisoners to the Tribal lands. Laia quickly explains her encounter with Helene. They cannot partake in more raids because it has become risky. She invites Laia and Darin to join her Tribe, which is rare, since Tribes are only joined through adoption or marriage. In return, Afya wants Darin to forge Serric steel for the Tribes. Darin—says nothing. Afya describes the growing tensions between the Empire and different Tribes. Previous emperors maintained the peace treaty with the Tribes, but Marcus does not care. The Tribes need Serric steel to defend themselves.

Speaking privately with Laia, Darin confesses that he does not know if he remembers how to make weapons. While they talk, the ghosts in the Waiting Place call Laia’s name and accuse her of being complicit in a crime: “He’s here. He’s come. Because of you. Because of what you did” (56). Alarmed, Laia and Darin head to Shaeva’s cabin in the Waiting Place. When they arrive, Shaeva tells Laia that what she seeks is in Adisa and warns about a treacherous Beekeeper. Suddenly, the Nightbringer interrupts them. Restraining Elias, Darin, and Laia with his magic, he stabs Shaeva through the heart. Before she bursts into flames and dies, Shaeva tells a final prophecy about how the Nightbringer will free the jinn.

As the Nightbringer advances toward Elias, Laia breaks out of his magic with her power. The Nightbringer, realizing that Elias and Laia love each other, taunts Elias about how he seduced Laia. After Elias uses his own powers to break out of the Nightbringer’s hold, the Nightbringer disappears. The chapter ends with Darin and Laia deciding to go to Adisa to learn how to stop him.

With Shaeva dead, the full responsibility of the Waiting Place falls on Elias’s shoulders. When Laia asks, he confirms Shaeva is dead, then tells Laia and Darin that the fastest way to get to Adisa is through the forest. Elias windwalks Laia and Darin toward Adisa. In his head, he hears the jinn whisper that he will fail as Soul Catcher. They also remind him that all his loved ones will die before him since they are mortal and the Soul Catcher is not.

They reach the edge of the forest and can see the cottage where Darin recovered after breaking free from prison. Darin thanks Elias, and Elias tells him to stay alive. Elias and Laia don’t want to say goodbye to each other. Elias gives Laia an unfinished armlet he made for her and advises Laia to be careful in Adisa. The two refuse to say goodbye to each other and share a kiss. Elias imagines living a full life with Laia and growing old with her. Laia tells Elias that he is cruel to promise her something she wants and take it away. Elias vows they will meet again, and Laia tearfully tells him not to lie. Laia walks away from Elias. He hopes she will turn back to look at him, but she does not.

Helene is in the Black Guard barracks reading spy reports from various corners of the empire, but she pays close attention to reports from Tiborum, since the Karkaun clans have been unnaturally quiet. Helene slips out to meet with her sister secretly, but Harper intercepts her and takes her to Livia through a more secure passageway. Helene and Harper arrive at the Hall of Records, where they meet Cain. Helene hates Cain, since he thinks he could have saved her family by warning them about Marcus’s plans, and moves to strike him. Cain, an Augur, one of the 14 holy men and women of the Empire, uses his powers to stop her. He tells Helene that he has a message from Livia. Livia asks to see Helene, so Helene continues to her room.

The sisters talk, and Livia brings Helene to a spy hole that Livia uses to spy on Marcus. Through the spyhole, they see Marcus talking and arguing with himself. Livia reveals she is pregnant with Marcus’s child, and the sisters realize they can overthrow Marcus as long as Livia’s child is protected, since the child is the heir to the Empire’s throne. Livia reveals the child will be born by the Grain Moon. Helene asks Livia to tell Marcus that she is pregnant so he won’t abuse her, but she warns her not to tell anyone else.

The chapter ends with Livia telling Helene to escape, and Helene escaping while listening to Marcus beat Livia.