Ruthless Vows

As Roman’s wounds continue to plague him, he worries about the irreparable damage that the tear gas at Avalon Bluff has caused to his lungs and if he can manage it with proper medical treatment after the war. Dacre summons Roman to ask about Iris. Dacre is unaware of Roman’s current correspondence with Iris, only knowing that they used to be coworkers at the Gazette. She has recently reached Dacre’s radar because of her article in the Inkridden Tribune detailing the myth about Enva besting him. Dacre wants Roman to write a piece for the Gazette that rebuts Iris’s article. Their session is interrupted by Shane, who informs Dacre that Captain Landis has found the place where the god of harvest and rain, Luz Skyward, was buried while sleeping. Dacre decides to visit the site and brings Roman along.

On the ride to Luz’s burial site with Shane, Roman asks about Dacre’s healing ability and its connection to memories. Shane reveals that when soldiers’ memories and painful wounds return and they can’t hide their disdain for Dacre, he takes them to the under realm and “heals” them again, re-erasing their memories. When Roman asks about the importance of Luz’s burial site, Shane hints that Dacre plans to kill the god and steal his magic. When they arrive, however, it becomes apparent that Enva has beaten Dacre at his own game. She has killed the remaining gods already and stolen their power as her own to keep it out of Dacre’s hands.

Iris, Attie, and Tobias accompany Keegan’s forces to Oath, but Chancellor Verlice refuses to allow Enva’s forces on neutral grounds. Keegan’s forces are forced to camp outside the city. Tobias drops Iris off at Forest’s home, where she discovers that a woman’s touch has brightened the space. Iris is settling in to read the local newspaper when Sarah Prindle enters the flat.

Iris discovers that Forest and Sarah have begun dating during her absence. Forest has been closed off since returning from Dacre’s service, but he has begun to open up emotionally to Sarah. Sarah informs Iris of an anonymous new city guard called the Graveyard, which claims allegiance to no god. The group has instituted a curfew and patrols the streets at night with masks and rifles hunting for Enva.

Forest arrives for dinner and is relieved to find Iris home safe. When Sarah mentions that the man who delivers Roman’s articles will be at the Gazette tomorrow morning, Iris asks her to hold a blue handkerchief to the window when he leaves the office so that Iris may trail him. She hopes that he’ll lead her straight to one of Dacre’s magical doorways. The following morning goes as planned, and Iris discovers that the doorway the man is using is located within the Kitt Estate.

Iris informs Roman of the magical doorway inside his family home. Roman’s reply is cut short by Shane summoning him to meet with Dacre. When he reaches Dacre’s study, the god is fast asleep. Roman has the urge to kill him while he’s incapacitated but resists the temptation. Instead, he spends his time studying the map of tunnel routes leading into Oath and then leaves the study.

A few hours later, Dacre sends for Roman. He has decided to send Roman to Oath to meet with Iris in person and deliver a letter from Dacre. Dacre entrusts his advisor, Val, with escorting Roman to and from the city and gives Roman another letter to deliver to his father. Roman requests permission to stay one night with his family, which Dacre grants.

Val uses a small flute tied to a string beneath his shirt to tame an eithral enough so that he and Roman can fly it through the under realm and toward Oath. When they reach the doorway to the Kitt Estate, Val instructs Roman to pass through alone and agrees to meet him at the same place tomorrow to return to Dacre. The door deposits Roman into the Kitt Estate’s parlor.

Iris becomes worried after not hearing from Roman for over a day and sends a test message to Roman full of Es and Rs. The next morning, she still has not received a reply. At the Inkridden Tribune, Iris learns that the Graveyard has taken control of censoring the paper. The group has threatened disastrous consequences to Helena’s company if she does not send it any articles pertaining to the gods and soldiers for prior approval. Iris receives a call at work from Roman asking her to meet him at Gould’s Café.

Iris and Roman meet at Gould’s Café and pretend to be only acquaintances in case Val is watching their interaction. Roman hands her Dacre’s letter and instructs her to read it in private. Iris notices a letter from Roman that he has slyly included alongside Dacre’s. When Roman leaves, Iris retreats to the bathroom, where she reads both letters. Dacre’s letter compliments Iris’s writings for the Inkridden Tribune and offers her a position writing articles on his behalf. He requests that she think over his offer and informs her that she’ll soon know when to give him her answer. Roman’s letter informs Iris that he’s been given permission to stay one night at his family’s estate. He invites her to sneak into his house and meet him at a hidden path near his estate at 10:30 pm.

At dinner with his family, a man Roman has never seen before—Bruce—steps in to briefly exchange hushed words with Mr. Kitt. After dinner, Mr. Kitt encourages Roman to stay in Dacre’s good graces for a little while longer. Later in the evening, Roman meets Iris on the hidden path beside the estate, and they share a heated kiss.

Together, Roman and Iris climb to the roof and slip through his bedroom window. As they reacquaint themselves, Iris shows Roman Marisol’s green bird book that she’s taken to carrying on her person; she lends it to Roman to read. They become intimate as they share a shower together before moving to his bed.

Iris dreams of the diner where her mother used to work. A woman who appears to be her mother tells her about Alzane—the last king of Cambria before the monarchy fell and chancellors were appointed. It is widely believed that the king placed all five remaining gods—Dacre, Mir, Alva, Luz, and Enva—in their graves after lulling them to sleep with a magical lullaby (“Alzane’s Lullaby”). However, Iris believes that Enva was never buried but rather struck a deal with Alzane and used her music to bury the others. Iris is abruptly woken by Roman’s coughing fit, which reveals that the tear gas he inhaled in Avalon Bluff has caused lasting damage to his lungs.

Instead of going back to sleep, Roman tells Iris about visiting Luz’s grave and finding the god dead—likely at Enva’s hands. He also tells her about Dacre’s doorways and their keys and of the eithrals answering to flutes. Before Iris sneaks out the following morning, Roman returns her wedding ring and hands over a hastily drawn map of a ley line in Oath. Shortly after she leaves, the house shakes, and Dacre enters.

Iris visits Attie’s house on the way to work, and Attie takes Iris downstairs to see her violin. Iris and Attie discover that they’ve both been dreaming about “Alzane’s Lullaby” lately and gather that a divine is attempting to send them a message through their dreams. Attie suspects that the lullaby can be used to tame Dacre and makes an appointment with a former music professor to track down the full composition. They both catch a ride with Tobias, who has recently begun driving Attie and her siblings to work and school in the mornings.

Attie, Tobias, and Iris visit Keegan and Marisol at the army encampment beyond the city boundary. Iris shows Keegan the map of the ley line in Oath, and Keegan reminds her of what occurred when Dacre bombed Avalon Bluff—some houses fell while others remained sturdy because they were situated atop ley lines and underground passages. Keegan points out that the buildings in Oath built atop ley lines will be the safest shelters in case of attack. They plan to make a map for the public that informs them of these safe places to shelter. During their meeting, the ground rumbles beneath their feet, signifying Dacre’s approach.

Meanwhile in the Kitt Estate, Roman retreats to his room while Dacre meets with Mr. Kitt and the chancellor in private. Roman is shocked to find old letters with Iris on the floor beside the wardrobe. Shane emerges from the connected bathroom and accuses Roman of being the mole in Dacre’s forces.

Shane has discovered that the “Elizabeth” from Roman’s more recent letters and Iris Winnow are one and the same. Shane forces Roman to write out a confession admitting to revealing everything he told Iris about the attack on Hawk Shire. However, Shane does not plan on handing the confession over as long as Roman doesn’t betray him. Shane then hands Roman a letter with instructions to deliver it to an important correspondent during the impromptu, invitation-only press conference in the Green Quarter tomorrow. Dacre plans to speak to the influential people of Oath at this event, and the intended recipient of the letter will be wearing a red anemone pinned to his lapel. Shane instructs Roman to leave the courtyard immediately after delivering the letter.

At the Inkridden Tribune, Helena hands Iris an envelope addressed to her that includes an invitation to the impromptu press conference. Iris thinks immediately of Dacre’s letter, which claimed that Iris would know when to give him her answer. She believes that this press conference is the opportunity and plans to attend.

Roman rides with Dacre to the press conference and searches the crowd for the man Shane said would have a red anemone pinned to his lapel. His search is interrupted when he becomes distracted by seeing Iris in the crowd. The delay causes Roman to miss the handoff, and he decides to open the letter himself. It reads simply, “A blast alone won’t do. You must sever the head” (285). Aware that a bomb blast is imminent, Roman plans to pull Iris from the blast zone but is dragged away by his father’s work associate, Bruce, who’s been instructed to look after Roman’s safety at the event.