Chapter 35 Summary and Analysis: Elara's Perspective

⚠️ 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 Elara and Signey under aerial attack as they approach the National Hall. The Dragon Legion has been alerted to their approach and treats them as enemies. Clinging to Zephyra's back, Elara recalls the layout of the National Hall from her visits and directs Zephyra to the North Chamber, where the commander, the director, and Queen Aveline are gathered.

Signey stays with Zephyra to draw off the pursuing dragons, and Elara slides down to the ground. She faces a line of soldiers and, for the first time in months, sinks into the astral plane to summon her aunts. The reunion is joyful—she had worried she'd never see them again—and she blends her soul with Aunt Gabourey, the strongest of them, feeling her bloodlust as her own. She leaves the soldiers unconscious and runs into the National Hall, healing herself with summoning magic as she goes.

Bursting into the North Chamber, Elara tells Queen Aveline that San Irie is under attack right now, not just threatened. As she recounts everything—the overheard conversation at Hearthstone, the Gray Saint's rising, her imprisonment at Rosetree, the broken dragon bond—the Warwicks remain unnervingly calm. Elara realizes the truth: they never cared whether Faron cured the Fury. They wanted Faron isolated and desperate, hoping she'd turn to the Gray Saint.

Gavriel Warwick confirms this. He explains that the Warwicks made a bargain with the Gray Saint long ago and failed to uphold it. The Fury, he reveals, is the First Dragon rattling the cage of the Empty, calling its creatures to him. All the dragons needed their Riders for the Empty to open, and he'd hoped Faron would find hers among the dignitaries—even hoping it might be the Empyrean herself. Instead, it was Elara, whom he dismisses as useless. He admits he used Elara as a hostage, knowing Faron would do anything to bring her home, even open the Empty.

Aveline steps between the commander and Elara, outraged at the Warwicks' willingness to condemn their own people to endless warfare. She declares she is leaving and taking Elara with her. The director summons a fireball, and the queen shatters the windows, holding glass shards like daggers. Elara raises a translucent shield that absorbs the director's fire, then throws the magic back at the commander. With Gabourey urging her on, she sends a wave of magic that collapses a wall, opening the chamber to the air—though she holds back from collapsing the roof because innocent people are in the building.

The sky fills with dragons, and Elara prepares to fight, though she doubts she can match her sister's power. But before she can strike, Irontooth—the Warwicks' carmine dragon—is attacked by allied riders. Jesper and Torrey ride Azeal, Petra Rowland and Hanne Gifford ride Alzina, and together they drag Irontooth out of view. Signey appears atop Zephyra's head, announcing that these dragons were called to help Elara, not the Warwicks. Professors Damon Smithers and Rupert Lewis, on their sage dragon Nizsa, offer to escort Elara and the queen back to San Irie, submitting themselves for disciplinary action.

Elara is moved to tears by the unexpected solidarity. She resolves to do everything she can to avoid a second war—not just for her island, sister, and queen, but for all the Langlish people and dragons who questioned their empire's actions. The Warwicks' smugness cracks. Aveline thanks them politely for their hospitality and departs with Elara through the wrecked wall.

Key Events

Elara and Signey are attacked by dragons en route to the National Hall; Elara directs Zephyra to the North Chamber.
Signey stays with Zephyra to draw off pursuers while Elara descends and fights soldiers using summoning magic.
Elara tells Queen Aveline that San Irie is under attack at that moment.
Elara realizes the Warwicks never intended for Faron to cure the Fury; they wanted her isolated and desperate.
Gavriel Warwick reveals the Gray Saint bargain and that Elara was used as a hostage to manipulate Faron into opening the Empty.
The Fury is revealed to be the First Dragon rattling the cage of the Empty.
Aveline declares she is leaving with Elara; the director attacks with fire.
Elara shields, retaliates, and collapses a wall, opening the chamber.
Allied riders—Jesper, Torrey, Petra Rowland, Hanne Gifford, Damon Smithers, Rupert Lewis—turn on Irontooth and offer to escort Elara and the queen home.
Aveline and Elara depart through the wreckage.

Character Development

Elara reclaims her summoning magic in this chapter after two months of wariness toward Langlish magic. The astral plane feels like coming home, and her reunion with her aunts restores a sense of wholeness she feared she'd lost. She also steps into a leadership role, directing Zephyra, fighting through soldiers, and facing the Warwicks directly. Her decision to hold back from collapsing the roof shows her moral restraint even in the heat of confrontation. Her resolve to avoid a second war, expanded to include Langlish people and dragons who questioned their empire, marks a significant broadening of her perspective.

Queen Aveline demonstrates fierce sovereignty and defiance. She steps between the commander and Elara, shatters windows with her magic, and declares that no power in this world can hold her somewhere she doesn't want to be. Her willingness to leave her nation's crisis to personally escort Elara home underscores her commitment to her people.

Gavriel Warwick is fully revealed as a manipulator who has been improvising for some time. His admission that Elara was never more than a hostage strips away any pretense of hospitality. Mireya Warwick shows a more somber side, sounding almost sad when she warns that fighting the Gray Saint means losing.

Signey continues to prove herself a steadfast ally, staying with Zephyra and orchestrating the allied riders' intervention.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Manipulation and betrayal: The Warwicks' entire scheme—isolating Faron, using Elara as a hostage, and waiting for the Fury to take root—reveals the depth of their betrayal. Elara's realization that she was a scapegoat and hostage, not a guest, reframes her entire time in Langley.

The Empty and the Fury: Gavriel's explanation that the Fury is the First Dragon rattling the cage of the Empty reframes the central conflict. The Fury isn't a curse to be cured but a call from an imprisoned god, and the Warwicks' bargain with the Gray Saint is the key to understanding the larger cosmic stakes.

Solidarity and unexpected allies: The professors and students who turn on Irontooth and offer to escort Elara and the queen home represent a crack in the empire's unity. Their willingness to submit themselves for disciplinary action shows that not all Langlish people support the Warwicks' agenda.

Queen's sovereignty: Aveline's defiance—shattering windows, holding glass daggers, declaring her freedom—embodies the theme of a ruler who refuses to be contained.

Self-discovery and inner strength: Elara's reclamation of summoning magic and her decision to face the Dragon Legion alone, even doubting she can match Faron's power, highlight her growth.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter delivers the central revelation of the novel's conspiracy: the Warwicks' bargain with the Gray Saint, the true nature of the Fury as the First Dragon's call, and Elara's role as a hostage rather than a guest. It also marks a turning point where Elara fully reclaims her magic and her agency, and where the empire's internal fractures become visible as allied riders defect. The chapter sets up the final confrontation by bringing Elara and Aveline back to San Irie with allies at their side.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why did the Warwicks keep Elara in Langley if they never intended for Faron to cure the Fury?

The Warwicks wanted Faron isolated and desperate. Gavriel Warwick explains that he suspected Faron's desire to save Elara would work in his favor if he kept Elara in the capital long enough. Elara was a hostage, not a guest—a tool to manipulate Faron into opening the Empty.

2. What is the Fury, according to Gavriel Warwick?

Gavriel reveals that the Fury is the First Dragon rattling the cage of the Empty, calling its creatures to him. The Warwicks cracked the lock on the Empty long ago through their failed bargain with the Gray Saint, and they needed all the dragons to have their Riders for the Empty to open fully.

3. Why does Elara hold back from collapsing the roof on the Warwicks?

Elara considers collapsing the roof but remembers that innocent people are in the building. She refuses to let the Warwicks' crimes cause more collateral damage, showing that her desire for justice is tempered by concern for the innocent.