Chapter Thirty-Five
Contains spoilers
Summary
- The protagonist wakes up disoriented, bound to a chair, in an underground cell with pain in their head.
- They eavesdrop on a conversation about someone named "she" who is away but will return in a week.
- The protagonist identifies themselves as Violet, realizes they have been drugged, captured, and that their powers are suppressed.
- Major Varrish and other captors interrogate Violet about stealing a journal and her involvement in a sensitive matter.
- Despite torture, Violet gives careful, mostly truthful answers, protecting her accomplices.
- Violet uses selective truth to defend herself during the interrogation while still protecting the larger plan.
- Varrish resorts to physically breaking Violet's fingers, heightening the torture.
- Violet hallucinates the presence of Liam, who comforts her and helps maintain her resolve.
- Date mentions rise, suggesting the passing of several days, during which Violet is tortured but remains silent.
- Nora considers bringing Violet's squad into the torture, but Varrish dismisses the idea.
- As Violet stays strong, Varrish reveals his signet allows him to see weaknesses, alluding to targeting Xaden, the protagonist's love interest.
- Varrish threatens to use Xaden against Violet unless she cooperates with his demands.
- Liam, whether a hallucination or a ghost, advises Violet to remain strong and not betray her friends or the cause.
- A plan appears to be in place where Xaden would not risk coming to Violet's aid as it would compromise a larger strategy.
- Dain, someone from Violet's past, enters the scene, and Varrish manipulates him into believing that Violet is a traitor.
- Under Varrish's orders, Dain uses his signet to sift through Violet's memories, resulting in a shared experience of a traumatic past event.
- Violet's worst fears are realized as Dain confirms her involvement in weapon smuggling for an uprising.
- However, Varrish's plan is interrupted by an urgent summons for all leadership due to incidents at the border.
- In a twist, Dain seems to take Varrish's side but then attacks Varrish instead of Violet.
- Dain frees Violet and together they face Nora, who Dain kills as they attempt to escape with Violet left grappling with shock and confusion.