The Serpent and the Wings of Night

Oraya awakens in Raihn and Mische’s apartment and claims the room with the most windows because it provides the greatest safety from vampires. Mische enthusiastically introduces herself, and Oraya briefly wonders what Mische’s relationship is with Raihn. They present Oraya with the head of the vampire she killed in the greenhouse. The situation brings an unwelcome memory to the surface, and Oraya recalls Vincent saying the words “I have a gift for you” (112); the memory makes her nauseous, for those are the words he said to her before forcing her to kill the vampire she loved. She notes that the Bloodborn vampire’s head shows evidence of the Bloodborn curse.

During dinner with Raihn and Mische, Mische questions Oraya about her magic, but Oraya admits that she only has a pitiful spark—nothing useful in battle. Suddenly, Angelika, the silver-haired leader of the Bloodborn candidates, interrupts their dinner, intending to exact vengeance for the Bloodborn vampire that Oraya killed. Raihn reveals that the vampire was suffering from the last stage of the Bloodborn curse by the time he attacked Oraya; this information makes Angelika temporarily disengage. Angelika vows to kill Oraya during the trials, and then exits the apartment.

Oraya meets again with Vincent, who berates her for her foolish decision to enter an alliance with Raihn. Oraya pushes down the urge to defend her life-saving decision, deciding instead to “watch [her] voice and [her] words very carefully” (122). Oraya can tell that something else is bothering Vincent, but when she asks him about it, he reveals nothing. Vincent doesn’t apologize for the fact that his earlier absence was a factor in the bargain she was forced to make with Raihn, but Oraya accepts this because she knows that he never apologizes. She has learned to read the subtext of his words, and make allowances for his behavior. He leaves after gifting her with another vial of healing potion. When she returns to the tower apartment, Raihn greets her from where he leans against the window, in direct sunlight. Oraya wonders why he stands in the sunlight, as its rays are painful to vampires, but doesn’t bother asking before barricading herself in her room.

The trio begins training for the Halfmoon trial, but the attempt is unsuccessful because Oraya is unable to trust Raihn enough to let him close. Both she and Raihn have always worked best alone, and they struggle to work as equal partners. On the 13th day of no progress, Raihn taunts Oraya, backing her against a wall with no way of escape. When he ignores her warnings to back up, she slams her palm against his chest, and an unprecedented burst of magic comes from her, launching him across the room and through the glass windows.

Oraya is shocked by this new and unexpected magic power. Raihn uses his wings to fly back into the apartment; he is now even angrier than before because he believes that she has been hiding her magic. As Raihn and Oraya devolve into verbal sparring, Mische steps in to break up the tension. Raihn leaves the apartment, disappearing into the night.

Oraya attempts to meet with Vincent, but he doesn’t come. She returns to the Moon Palace, crossing paths with a man smoking cigarillos. (It will later be revealed that this man is Septimus, who will be introduced in Chapter 32). The smell of the smoke reminds her of Ilana, and she offers to buy a cigarillo from him. He hands her the entire package and tells her to keep it, because he bet on her during the Full Moon trial and she won him a lot of money. He wishes her good luck in the next trial.

Raihn is still missing when Oraya returns to the apartment. She settles in with Mische. Their resulting conversation reveals that Mische is best friends with Raihn and believes him to be loyal and trustworthy. They theorize about what the next trial might be. Though no one can know for certain, they know that the trials mimic aspects of Nyaxia’s escape from the land of the White Pantheon. Raihn doesn’t return until the sun begins to rise and Oraya is already in bed. Her curiosity piqued, Oraya sneaks into the hallway to eavesdrop on his conversation with Mische. He has returned home drunk, and Mische admonishes him for his behavior toward Oraya. She mentions Oraya’s upbringing with Vincent, saying, “Think about what it must have been like for her. Growing up like that” (146). Oraya returns to bed, insulted on Vincent’s behalf.

The next day, the shadows summon the candidates to the great hall, and they’re soon spirited away for the Waning Moon trial. Oraya finds herself in a labyrinth of black stone walls. The only other candidate in sight is a vampire named Ibrihim, who was harmed by his own family because they were afraid of his power as a child. His disabilities make others underestimate him, but Oraya sees the predator in him mirroring the hidden predator in her, and respects it. Oraya steps on a stone that lowers and opens a gateway to another section. When she steps off to go through the gate, it slams shut. Upon realizing that the only way through the maze is to use another candidate’s body weight to hold down a stone lever, Ibrihim and Oraya launch into a series of attacks, each intent on emerging victorious. Oraya manages to wound Ibrihim long enough to shift his weight onto the stone and slip through the gate, but she leaves him alive.

Oraya advances through the maze, surviving an attack from Kiretta, a Shadowborn vampire, and using her felled body to weigh down a stone and pass through another gate. On the other side, Oraya is horrified to discover several mutilated humans drained of blood. She takes pity on a young girl mourning her dead mother and decides to carry her to safety. When a Bloodborn man attacks Oraya’s “blind spot,” Oraya relies on Raihn’s defense to make it through two more attacks from other contestants before they arrive at the final gate.

While Raihn retrieves a lifeless body from the end of the corridor to weigh down the lever, Angelika attacks Oraya and lands a critical wound to her side, but Oraya manages to remove the blade from her own body and thrust it into Angelika, freeing her hold. Oraya drags herself to her feet, grabbing the child and joining Raihn, who has opened the gate. They exit the labyrinth and enter a colosseum filled with a crowd of vampires. Before she loses consciousness from her wounds, Oraya begs Raihn to keep the girl safe.

When Oraya awakens, the worst of her injuries have been healed. Mische is present, but when Oraya asks about the fate of the girl, Mische has no answer. Oraya grabs her jacket and heads to town, where she hunts and kills three vampires. She meant to meet with Vincent after leaving the Moon Palace earlier, but decided against it. She has many questions about why humans—especially human children—were planted in the labyrinth, but she is afraid to hear the answer. After her third kill, she encounters Raihn, who has been watching her kill vampires all night. Oraya tells him to leave, not wishing to hear him defend the vampires she killed. Instead, he tells her that she’s “doing an important public service” (168). She asks about the child.

Raihn leads Oraya toward one of the better human districts, where she sees that the girl is safe in a home for orphaned children. Raihn expresses his approval of her vampire hunting and reveals that he used to be human himself. Oraya is shocked that Raihn is one of the Turned—a process that only two in three humans tend to survive. He apologizes for his behavior during training, which softens the moment. Oraya studies him, realizing that Raihn is actually quite handsome. She has always avoided appraising vampires’ physical attributes because doing so only invites danger, but now she lets herself feel the captivating effect of his beauty. He offers to train with Oraya in the streets by hunting vampires alongside her, and she agrees.

Oraya prepares to meet Vincent, full of pent-up anger that deflates when he arrives. Her anger resurfaces when he lectures her about risking her life for “nothing” at the trial, for his admonishment makes it clear how little he values human life. She argues that the child could have just as easily have been her, but avoids calling herself human because Vincent hates to acknowledge this reality. Oraya tells Vincent of her strange display of magical power, but Vincent does not seem surprised. When Oraya returns to the Moon Palace, Raihn stands at the windows, bathed in daylight. She asks why he does it, but he doesn’t answer. The conversation devolves into friendly banter, a contrast to their earlier squabbling, and their friendliness leaves Mische grinning from where she eavesdrops at her bedroom door.