The Serpent and the Wings of Night

The narrative returns to the present moment. Vincent’s voice in Oraya’s head combats her panic within the Moon Palace, an enchanted castle within Sivrinaj that is used only for the Kejari. She heads toward the uppermost tower, which offers enough sunlight during the day to keep vampires away. As Oraya moves upward, human screams echo throughout the castle, and she recognizes Ilana’s voice among them. Oraya runs toward the sound, desperate to save her friend, but is grabbed by a stranger who claims to be saving her. Oraya stabs him in the thigh and attempts to locate Ilana, to no avail. Eventually, she comes upon a greenhouse where she hides, waiting for the safety of daylight.

By sunrise, the Moon Palace has fallen quiet, but Oraya remains alert as she travels through the bloodstained palace. She finds Ilana’s mutilated body near a sleeping Rishan vampire who is covered in Ilana’s blood. Oraya kills him to avenge her friend. Ilana’s death increases Oraya’s hatred of her own human fragility and weakness, and it also reminds her just how inconsequential human life is to vampires. Oraya retrieves Ilana’s purple silk scarf before lighting her friend’s body on fire.

When night falls again, the remaining contestants are summoned to the great room. As Oraya studies the House of Blood candidates, her focus is drawn to a tall, silver-haired woman named Angelika, who seems to be their leader. Next, she listens as the Ministaer, a thin, bald man who is rumored to be “a flesh-vessel for Nyaxia’s will” (58), outlines the rules of the competition. The Kejari will consist of five trials: the Full Moon trial, the Waning Moon trial, the Halfmoon trial, the Crescent trial, and the New Moon trial. The trials all take place three weeks apart, and while the contestants may leave Moon Palace at nightfall, they must remain inside during the daylight hours. The Ministaer parts with the enigmatic statement that Nyaxia will use the Palace to provide whatever she deems necessary.

A feast appears, and Oraya sits alone on its outskirts. Suddenly, a Nightborn Rishan named Klyn enters in a rage, demanding to know who killed his brother. Oraya recognizes his features, which are similar to those of the man she killed yesterday. A familiar-looking vampire, who is later revealed to be Raihn Ashraj, provokes Klyn. When Raihn stands to meet Klyn eye-to-eye, Oraya notices the bandage on Raihn’s thigh and realizes that he is the stranger whom she stabbed in the leg last night. A chatty woman who will later be revealed to be Mische approaches Oraya and attempts a conversation, but Oraya’s attention is solely focused on the two men. Klyn pushes Raihn to fight, and Raihn shocks everyone by employing the rare Asteris power to kill Klyn.

Oraya sneaks out of the Moon Palace to meet Vincent in secret. To aid her in her trials, Vincent gives her a bottle of rare medicine that can heal wounds, along with two custom-built blades that are filled to the hilts with poison. Oraya interprets his gifts as an expression of love, which he never admits aloud. The candidates are summoned to the great hall again at nightfall. Oraya’s gaze returns to Angelika, and she notes the crimson Bloodborn curse mark on the woman’s neck. The curse turns its victims into “blood-crazed” animals. Oraya notices Raihn associating with the chatty Mische just before all the contestants are magically transported somewhere else.

The contestants reappear in an arena that is split into pods. The arena is brimming with humanoid demons and surrounded by screaming spectators. A Rishan contestant in Oraya’s pod takes flight and shoots arrows at the demons while Raihn, who is also in her pod, fights with his sword and displays his wings, which are covered with red-black feathers. Oraya is not surprised to discover that Raihn is a Rishan. In the chaos, Oraya notices that the entire horde of demons reacts whenever the leader is attacked. Convinced that the leader is linked to the followers, she surmises that targeting the alpha will take down them all, so she launches herself into the fray. Before she strikes the leader’s heart, she is shot in the thigh by the Rishan archer flying above.

With Raihn’s aid, Oraya kills the alpha despite her injuries. The entire horde falls with their leader, and a gate back to the Moon Palace appears, signaling the completion of their trial. Oraya scans the crowd for Vincent while Raihn signals for Mische to attack the alpha in her own pod. Oraya is shocked to witness Mische wielding fire magic, which is the magic of the sun god, Atroxus. Such magic is never seen among vampires, as it’s not Nyaxia’s specialty, but rather the magic of her enemy. When Oraya settles into her greenhouse back at the Moon Palace, she does not feel the satisfaction at having completed her first trial. Instead, she feels dread because her wounds will not stop bleeding.

Oraya uses Vincent’s healing potion to heal a deep wound to her abdomen but leaves her severe thigh wound untended. Raihn visits her greenhouse and offers her a vial of a rare, expensive healing potion, but his price is that she must ally with him and Mische for the Halfmoon trial, which requires teamwork to survive. She denies his offer, simultaneously giving up her chance at healing her worsening thigh wound. Raihn tells her to find him at the top of the eastern tower if she changes her mind.

Oraya’s wound worsens, but Vincent does not come with more healing potion. Oraya is sought out and attacked by a vampire contestant bent on bloodlust. Her wounds make her weak and slow, and she almost fails to kill him. She suffers yet another wound in the process, which speeds her impending death. As if the Moon Palace senses her need, stairs to the eastern tower appear, and she climbs, collapsing at the top. Raihn appears as she falls unconscious.