A Curse So Dark and Lonely

A group of men attacks, quickly dispatched by Rhen and Grey. Rhen orders Grey to kill one as an example, but Harper stops him, ordering for someone to bandage the man’s wounds. Rhen delivers an impassioned speech to the crowd, asking for their help and promising to fight at their side, and all the gathered swear loyalty. In the aftermath, Harper is on edge as the group sits down to a meal. She asks Grey if she did the wrong thing letting that man live, and after a long pause, Grey says only that she needs to be careful because “kindness and mercy always find their limit, beyond which they turn to weakness and fear” (274).

A musician asks if Rhen and Harper wish to dance, and Harper refuses because dancing is difficult because of how cerebral palsy affects her leg. She and Rhen argue, and Rhen storms away, angry that Harper thinks he’s mocking her. Harper follows, and Rhen confesses he wanted to dance because the music in the city is different from the songs he’s heard repeating at the palace throughout