Chapter 30: Nina — Summary, Analysis, and Key Moments

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

The chapter opens at the Gelidbel ball, the final formal event of Heartwood before marriage proposals are issued. Nina, disguised as Mila Jandersdat, wears a silver gown studded with dagger-shaped beads, while Hanne appears in a scandalous amber silk dress that leaves little to the imagination. Hanne is deeply uncomfortable, avoiding her own reflection and confessing that she misses the convent's lack of mirrors. Ylva dismisses her concerns, insisting the gown will help secure a husband.

The ballroom is transformed with white trumpet lilies everywhere, their sweet scent thick in the air. Nina observes the Fjerdan nobles' confidence in the coming war, noting the queen clutching prayer beads. Hanne jokes about wanting to ride away with Nina on horseback, but the moment is interrupted when Joran arrives to escort them to Prince Rasmus.

Rasmus, visibly healthier after Hanne's aggressive healing, holds court in an alcove. He discusses the war, his mother's strange superstitions (she claims spirits of the dead spoke to her and refuses to let Brum bomb civilian targets), and hints at a new weapon—possibly the plans labeled