The Songbird and the Heart of Stone

A young, mortal Mische adjusts to a blessed life after weeks of hardship with her sister. They find refuge with the priests of Atroxus, where Mische is introduced to a peaceful existence filled with learning and wielding sun magic. She relishes the sensation of Atroxus’s power and spends her time studying magic and exploring the forest with a boy her age, Eomin, whom she calls her friend. She delights in watching the golden birds in the trees, despite the groundskeeper’s belief that they are invasive and should be culled.

Mische spends a year at the Citadel before she experiences her first glimpse of a vampire. Once a warrior priest of the Citadel, the newly turned vampire now burns in the sun. Mische is invited to stay as her sister, Saescha, stabs him in the chest, following the priests’ instructions. This unsettling event disturbs Mische deeply, prompting her to flee to the nearby forest for solace. There, she seeks comfort from the firefinch birds she loves, but one lands at her feet, killed by an arrow, prompting her to succumb to her nausea.