Chapter 34 Summary and Analysis
⚠️ 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 with Shiori racing back through the festival crowd, her mind reeling from the realization that Zairena is the assassin. She spots a figure she believes to be Takkan, but it is Hasege. Desperate to warn someone, she tries to communicate with him, but he is drunk and uncomprehending. He offers to take her to the castle, claiming Takkan is waiting there. Despite her distrust and Kiki's warning, Shiori accepts the ride, as she needs to speak to Lady Bushian.
As they approach the fortress, Shiori notices a light burning in her window—a light she did not leave. Hasege drops her off, and she races to her room. Inside, she finds it empty but for lit candles. She clutches her satchel, which contains the starstroke net, but as she moves to leave, the satchel's straw exterior begins to glimmer. The illusion is washed away by melted snow, revealing a silk bag—Zairena's purse. The real satchel is gone.
Before Shiori can process this, Hasege, Zairena, and Lady Bushian enter. Zairena holds up Shiori's satchel and accuses her of being a demon priestess. She opens the bag, and a shadowy wolf springs out, terrifying Lady Bushian. Hasege and Zairena claim this is proof of Shiori's evil magic, and despite Shiori's desperate, silent protests, Lady Bushian is convinced. Zairena stabs Shiori with a poisoned needle, numbing her legs, and Hasege declares she must be burned. Lady Bushian reluctantly agrees, asking that Megari not be told.
Imprisoned in a cell, Shiori struggles against the poison's effects. Megari visits, bringing paper for folding birds and a charm for protection, hoping to ask the gods for Shiori's freedom. She promises to convince her mother once Takkan returns, but Shiori knows she has little time. Zairena then arrives, dismissing Megari. Alone with Shiori, she reveals she knows Shiori is the princess. She explains that the priestesses of the Holy Mountains must kill Shiori because her blood magic—the bloodsake—is the only magic capable of freeing the demons trapped within the mountains.
Zairena reveals the Wolf's manipulation: he told Shiori's brothers to make the starstroke net, intending for Shiori to bring him the starstroke from Mount Rayuna so he could steal Raikama's pearl. She also confesses to poisoning Megari with