Defy the Night

Corrick is uncertain whether the attack on the palace is being led by consuls or rebels. People are shooting arrows and rush toward Corrick’s room. Corrick’s group exits the window using rope. Quint gets shot in the shoulder by a crossbow; Corrick falls and hurts himself, but Harristan carries him to safety.

Tessa, Corrick, Harristan, and Quint, as well as guards Rocco and Thorin, go to Tessa and Wes’s old workshop for relative safety. Harristan is still hurt that Corrick lied to him, but Corrick and Quint both apologize and explain that “Wes” was created for everyone’s protection at the time. Everyone dresses their wounds. Tessa understands the rebels’ anger at Harristan, but doesn’t think bombing the palace and shooting people indiscriminately will fix the pandemic. However, she recognizes that until recently, she also wanted to kill Harristan and Corrick.

The group negotiates. They all want less death, and agree that civil war would cause more of it. Harristan and Corrick know the rebels won’t listen to them, and that Tessa is their best bet as a liaison. Tessa wants amnesty for the rebels, a job and a room for herself, and for Corrick to stop being King’s Justice. Harristan accepts these terms, and the group goes out to find the Benefactors.

Harristan wants to find more royal guards for backup before approaching the rebels. On the way, Tessa shares the name “Weston Lark” with Harristan, and he reveals this was Corrick’s code name as a child when they would sneak out into the Wilds; “Weston” and “Lark” were the names of their father’s dogs. Harristan’s code name was Sullivan, based on their horse. Tessa empathizes with Harristan more, as he had to become king at a young age and be around people who might have conspired against his parents. Furthermore, Corrick has been lying to him, but it was the lie of Wes that helped Tessa cope with her own parents’ deaths.

The bodies that were hanging next to the palace are now gone, and instead, there’s a banner that reads “revolt.” Tessa suggests that the group find horses at Founder’s Livery; not many people from the Wilds can ride horses, so they probably wouldn’t steal them.

Corrick wakes up, still injured and in the workshop with an injured Quint; everyone else is gone. Quint tells him that the others left to find the rebels and attempt to negotiate. He also says Rocco is outside guarding. Corrick orders Rocco to take him and Quint to help the others.

There are horses at Founder’s Livery, and Tessa’s group takes some; Tessa doesn’t know how to ride horses, so she rides with Harristan. They head toward the army station, hoping to find royal soldiers there. They pass some dead elites hanging in doorways. Thorin slips away to eavesdrop, then returns with news that the rebels have several hostages, including consuls. The rebels have surrounded themselves with fire and have explosives, making it difficult to approach. Tessa’s group heads toward the Circle, the place that the rebels have taken over.

Hundreds of royal soldiers are already surrounding the rebels’ Circle, but don’t risk upsetting the rebels. The rebels say they will start killing hostages unless Harristan is surrendered. Lochlan orders one hostage, Consul Leander Craft, to be shot. Consuls Arella Cherry and Roydan Pelham are also hostages, suggesting they aren’t the Benefactors.

Harristan announces his presence, and that he can only help if left alive. The rebels throw an explosive at him, which he dodges. Tessa intervenes, saying Harristan came to negotiate and offer amnesty. Lochlan and the other rebels don’t trust Harristan, but trust Tessa. Harristan offers to have his army retreat 50 feet if Lochlan releases one hostage. However, Lochlan will only settle for “medicine for everyone” (416), which Harristan still lacks the ability to promise. As a result, Lochlan orders another hostage to be shot.

Corrick, Quint, and Rocco find horses, then head to the Circle, just in time to hear the second hostage, a young woman, be shot. Corrick sees the consuls being held hostage and realizes the rebels are using them as bargaining chips. He decides to get a consul whom the rebels don’t have: Allisander, who is still in the Hold.

At the Hold, Corrick has Rocco break Allisander’s fingers until he admits that Consuls Leander Craft and Lissa Marpetta were the consuls he was scheming with to overthrow Harristan. All he knows about Consuls Arella Cherry and Roydan Pelham is that they’ve been discussing shipping logs together. Corrick tells Allisander that rebels attacked the palace, and Allisander responds that they weren’t supposed to attack the palace, only his supply runs. In other words, Allisander was working with rebels to make it look like his supply runs were being attacked. This way, he could negotiate for higher prices for Moonflowers and make more profit—all of which was done to make him feel in control of Harristan. Corrick realizes Allisander is one of the Benefactors, and has been giving both the rebels and Harristan fake medicine. Allisander reveals that Lissa is the second Benefactor. Corrick and Rocco force Allisander to offer the rebels eight weeks of free medicine for everyone, while Harristan and others test Tessa’s theories about dosages and formulate a plan for how to move forward.

Corrick, Rocco, and Allisander appear at the Circle, announcing eight weeks of free medicine for everyone if the rebels stand down and release their hostages. Lochlan says the rebels are already getting free medicine, but Tessa explains that their supply is fake. The rebels admit that their supply has not been as effective as they’d hoped. They list things that Tessa has done to help them. They trust her, and are willing to extend their trust to Harristan by standing down.

The east wing of the palace has been mostly destroyed, but the west wing is inhabitable. Everyone rests for a couple days before getting back to work. Consul Lissa Marpetta went into hiding, and Harristan sends guards after her. He also relieves Corrick of his duties as King’s Justice, getting rid of the position altogether.

Tessa gets a new room in the palace. She now has a job working with the royal physicians and being a liaison between the king and the rebels. Essentially, she will be another consul, but for the people rather than a specific sector. Tessa and Corrick can be together without worrying as much about the other.