Golden Son

Darrow returns to Lykos and, with Ragnar as a guard, visits a garden where he buried Eo even though he knows her body is no longer there. He knows he must move on and let her go.

Darrow meets with a mine magistrate, Podginus—a Copper—who strives and fails to impress Darrow. Ragnar criticizes the mine’s productivity, which flusters Podginus. Podginus argues the Reds are rebellious and he has been following the protocols to subdue them. Darrow orders Podginus to throw a feast for the Red miners, and Darrow supplies the provisions. Darrow watches the party from another room and recognizes most of the people, including his brother, Kieran. Mustang joins him and criticizes the corrupt management of Lykos. She has written legislation to improve the Reds’s circumstances. She asks why they are there, and Darrow tells her that “this is the mine where the girl sang the Forbidden Song” (405).

Darrow anxiously leads Mustang through Lykos. She questions how he knows his way, and he asks how far she wants to be let into his life. She says, “All the way” (408), so he hands her a holoCube and leaves her in the hallway as he enters his old home. The house is quiet except for a tea kettle whistling on the stove. Scared, Darrow considers leaving but then, sees his mother, Deanna. Deanna recognizes him, and she holds him while he cries then fetches the tea kettle. Mustang has left, and Sevro sends a message asking if he should kill her, but Darrow cannot give the order.

Deanna knew Darrow’s uncle, Narol, saved Darrow from execution, but not that Darrow had turned Gold. She says Narol fell down a mineshaft and died, but she does not believe he is dead. Leanna, Darrow’s sister, is remarried and has two children. Kieran, widowed when his first wife died in childbirth, is also remarried to Dio, Eo’s sister. Deanna worries the mine is failing, but Darrow, who knows Podginus is faking the failure to control the rebels, tells her not to worry. Darrow explains what he has done, and Deanna admits her dislike of Eo for manipulating Darrow into “fighting her battles” (413). Darrow argues Eo was right, but Deanna only cares about Darrow, not about what is right. She doesn’t see the point in freedom because the mines are all the Reds know. He asks if loving two people is possible, but he cannot get an answer because Kieran’s daughter comes downstairs. Darrow conceals himself and Deanna tells the child she was praying for Darrow. She says the dead can always hear them. That is why they sing—so the dead will know they still have joy.

According to the tracker Sevro placed on Mustang, she left in a ship after watching the video on the holoCube of Darrow’s carving. Darrow wanders through Lykos, unwilling to order Sevro and Ragnar to kill Mustang. He calls Mustang on his dataPad, but hears her approach behind him. Mustang, holding a weapon, orders Darrow to face her. He complies and asks her why she came back, but she refuses to answer. He explains his story, and they discuss Titus. Darrow says he might have ended up as evil as Titus if he had not had Eo and Mustang. He tells her: “Titus had pain. But that’s all he had. I had something more” (420). Eo’s dream of a better world gave him a cause to fight for, and Mustang showed him that not all Golds are cruel and that they can change.

Darrow approaches Mustang, saying he did not turn his back on her. She argues that Darrow will kill her family and that he wants genocide against the Golds. Ragnar threatens to kill Mustang if she shoots Darrow. Darrow begs Ragnar to trust him, but Ragnar, citing the river, suggests Darrow is not always right. Darrow says he is fighting for love and not revenge, then drops his weapon and kneels. Mustang urges Ragnar to fight her, calling him “dog,” and Ragnar responds with his backstory—how he got his 44 scars and how he lost six family members. He kneels alongside Darrow, and Darrow asks Mustang what she lives for.

Darrow rides in a parade honoring his accomplishments. Afterward, Augustus takes Darrow aside and Darrow worries Mustang has told Augustus the truth. Augustus questions why Darrow delegated tasks to lowColors, and Darrow answers the lowColors could do things he could not do himself. Augustus says maintaining the social order is critical due to the failings of the previous social order. Augustus wants to preserve the human species and doesn’t care how many die in the process. He wants Darrow to help and plans to have Darrow marry Mustang. Augustus admits he is making false promises to the Reformers. Darrow inwardly seethes at Augustus’s audacity but agrees to go along with the plan.

A ceremonial dinner is given in Darrow’s honor. Sevro worries about Fitchner’s absence, and Darrow sends him and Ragnar to investigate. Augustus toasts Darrow, and Roque comes forward with a box meant to hold Darrow’s Triumph Mask. Roque addresses Darrow, speaking of their history together. Darrow notices Golds disguised as Pinks. Roque kisses Darrow on the cheek, drugs him, and says, “And thus go liars, with a bloodydamn kiss” (437). Antonia shoots Victra, the Jackal and Lilath kill Lorn, and Augustus’s forces are killed as Aja and Cassius arrive. Victra crawls to Darrow and says she did not know about this plan. Cassius talks to Darrow, who can hear but not move, and admonishes him for killing his family including the children, but Darrow didn’t know about the children. Octavia has ordered Darrow not be killed. The Jackal admits to killing Claudius then kills Augustus after Augustus denounces the Jackal as his son. Darrow pleads with Roque, but Roque snaps, “the power of Gold will never wane” (442). Darrow looks into the box and sees Fitchner’s head.