House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City)
by Sarah J. Maas
Contents
Chapter Seventy-Eight
Overview
Micah tries to activate the Horn by burning Bryce’s tattoo, unleashing power but opening no portal. Bryce and Lehabah use enchanted books to lock Micah in a bathroom, buying moments.
As Sandriel refuses to intervene, Bryce hyperventilates and dives into the nøkk tank to save Syrinx, embracing a life-or-death Ordeal.
Summary
Syrinx flails in the nøkk tank as Micah’s power pins Bryce face-first on the stairs. Micah blasts white flame into the Horn tattoo on Bryce’s back; the ink drinks the fire, power ripples outward, but no portal appears. Bryce realizes Micah will keep trying—even carve the Horn from her—confirming her earlier deduction that Danika hid the Horn in the tattoo.
Clawing for any chance, Bryce snatches a book from the shelf and unleashes a green blast that hurls Micah into the bathroom. Lehabah slams and seals the door with another book’s magic, trapping the Archangel for precious minutes. At the Summit, Hunt demands Sandriel intervene; she tightens her hold and refuses, calling it Micah’s jurisdiction.
With synth mending her leg, Bryce orders Lehabah to run the tank’s feeding dock, then ties Micah’s knife to her thigh. Declan shifts the feed to the tank room as Lehabah sobs that Syrinx has gone limp. Bryce begins rapid, deep breaths; Hypaxia asks what she’s doing, and Tharion explains she’s hyperventilating to load her lungs with air.
Bryce inhales once more and plunges into the tank, gripping the descending chain into the nøkk’s lair. She has no magic, no immortality, and synth threatens to tear her apart, yet she dives anyway to reach Syrinx. Watching, Flynn names it her Ordeal as Bryce disappears into the depths and Micah pounds at the sealed door.
Who Appears
- Bryce QuinlanInjected with synth, traps Micah with enchanted books, then dives into the nøkk tank to save Syrinx.
- Micah DomitusBurns Bryce’s Horn tattoo to trigger a portal, fails, and is sealed in the bathroom.
- LehabahUses a book to seal Micah in the bathroom and operates the tank’s feeding dock.
- SyrinxThrown into the nøkk tank, struggles, then goes limp as Bryce attempts a rescue.
- Hunt AthalarRestrained by Sandriel at the Summit; demands intervention to help Bryce.
- SandrielMaintains control over Hunt and refuses to interfere with Micah’s actions.
- Ruhn DanaanWatches the feed in horror, recognizing Bryce’s rescue attempt as her Ordeal.
- Declan EmmetSwitches the video feed to the tank chamber for the observers.
- Queen Hypaxia EnadorObserves and questions Bryce’s hyperventilating before the dive.
- Tharion KetosExplains Bryce’s hyperventilation as preparation to hold more air underwater.
- FlynnIdentifies Bryce’s desperate dive as her Ordeal.
- The Autumn KingSilent observer at the Summit as events unfold on the feed.
- The nøkkPredatory water creature in the tank, threatening Syrinx during Bryce’s rescue.