Morning Star

Hours later, Darrow hears that Victra is fighting Antonia and is requesting reinforcements. Darrow, Mustang, and the Howlers leave to support her, placing Sefi in charge in their absence. However, before they arrive, Victra has won. The ships revolted from Antonia as Victra closed on them.

Darrow then visits Antonia and Thistle (a Howler-turned-Bonerider) in the ship’s brig. Darrow demands that they give him information, saying that whoever gives him more can live. Before Darrow leaves, Thistle begs him to tell Sevro that she is sorry. Noticing that she has dyed her hair to fit in with the Golds better, Darrow says that the Howlers always accepted her how she was.

Darrow joins Mustang, Victra, and Sevro in a room monitoring the cells. After several minutes in which Thistle has done nothing but weep, Antonia says that they need to come up with a plan. Thistle decides to reveal everything to Darrow, but Antonia grabs her through the bars that separate their cells and slams her head against them until she dies. By doing this, Antonia hopes to ensure that the Rising cannot kill her, as she is the only source of information. In revenge, Victra brutally beats Antonia until Sevro stops her. Victra then exclaims, “I don’t know why she’s like this. Why I am” (411); she says that she told Sevro so. Then she storms out.

Later that day, Darrow asks Sevro what Victra meant, and he explains that she had broken off their relationship earlier. Before the Battle of Ilium, Sevro told Victra that he loved her, to which she had called him an idiot, and after the battle she said that she was poison. Victra believed that she would ruin everything eventually and so they may as well stop now.

Mustang tells Darrow and Sevro a plan that she has for winning the war. They heavily criticize the plan before ruminating on how to pull it off. Mustang then leaves to rejoin the main fleet ahead of them while Darrow goes to interrogate Antonia, who tells him that the Jackal is consolidating his forces on Mars.

Soon, a signal reaches the ship. It is a recording of the Jackal and a captive Narol. The Jackal says that he wanted Darrow to see him do this and then shoots Narol in the head. Darrow, stunned and grieving, realizes that the rest of the fleet will have received the same recording. They get in contact with Mustang, who tells them that the death of the popular Narol has sparked riots against Golds throughout the fleet. Sefi is leading these riots.

Darrow and his team rush back to the main fleet, but it takes a few hours. When he arrives on the Morning Star, he hears that Sefi has taken Mustang and several other Golds prisoner. The Telemanus family arrives, intent on storming in and saving Mustang. Darrow tries to stop them as it will only provoke a response from the lowColors. Sevro, noticing the pattern of behavior, says that “death begets death begets death” (422). Darrow eventually convinces the Telemanuses not to attack, at which point they all then notice that Sevro has gone missing.

They find Sefi in the main hangar of the ship, where a mob watches her hang Golds from a walkway. Among the captives is Cassius but not Mustang. As the crowd notices Darrow, they part for him, expecting him to support their actions. Darrow calls out to Sefi, asking her where Mustang is. Sefi says that she would not kill Mustang as she helped free the Obsidians but that she tried to stand in the way of justice. Darrow is unable to talk her out of killing the Golds.

Sefi prepares to cut out Cassius’s tongue, but a pulseFist (a weapon that generates blasts) knocks her back. Sevro, in the helmet of Ares, flies up to the walkway and claims that Cassius is his property as he killed Fitchner, a logic that Sefi accepts. Sevro asks Cassius to confirm that he killed Fitchner, which Cassius admits. Sevro says to the crowd that Cassius is a murderer and asks them what they do to murderers. In response, the crowd demands blood, and Sevro pushes Cassius off the ledge to hang. Victra expresses shock at the savagery she sees in Sevro, but Darrow knows that Sevro is taking control of his army.

Sevro further excites the crowd, listing off the number of people he has killed and being cheered on as he does so. Sevro then says, “I am Ares! I am a murderer too! [...] And what do we do to murderers?” (427). In the silence that follows, Sevro grabs a noose off a captive Gold and hangs himself.

Victra tries to fly to help Sevro, but Darrow stops her as he knows that this must play out. Sefi, confused, cuts both Cassius and Sevro down. Darrow rushes to Sevro and asks if he can talk. When Sevro confirms that he can, Darrow quiets the crowd. Sevro says that his father and Eo shared a dream of a better world that was built on love instead of hate. Cassius was merely protecting the world he knew when he killed Fitchner, so Sevro forgives him. Sevro, looking at Victra, says that they must now try to build a better world by giving up their fear of change.

As Sevro recovers in the infirmary, Mustang arrives and tells them that Cassius is injured but stable. Victra then enters the room, and Sevro tells everyone else to leave. When the pair emerges, they announce that Victra proposed to Sevro.

A week later, they marry. The wedding helps heal the rifts caused in the army by the riots. After an intimate ceremony, celebrations span the entire fleet. While observing the wedding party, Darrow notices an Orange who has just finished a special project for Mustang (it is later revealed that the project is building Sevro’s prosthetic vest). As the party progresses, Victra finds Darrow. She encourages him to talk to Mustang, but before he can, Holiday tells him that the Jackal is trying to call him. Darrow does not want to ruin the mood, so leaves without telling anyone.

Darrow speaks to a hologram of the Jackal, who asks about the wedding festivities. Though Darrow is disconcerted by how much the Jackal knows, he tries not to show it. The Jackal explains that he wanted to talk because he thinks that it might be their last chance. When Darrow comes to Mars, their fleets will fight it out for them. Mustang enters the room, but she is out of view of the Jackal.

The Jackal then takes out the scepter that Darrow once gave him. He muses that only Darrow knows him well enough to get him something with jackals instead of lions (his family crest). Darrow thinks that he gave the scepter to the Jackal because he wanted him to feel loved and he would have loved him if the Jackal could have changed. Darrow asks him if his father’s seat is what he thought it would be, to which the Jackal admits that it is not. Darrow then mockingly says that the Jackal wants to be hated because it gives him purpose, but Darrow does not hate him. He pities the Jackal because he can never have enough power to be satisfied and he wishes that he could inspire love but never will.

The Jackal retorts that Darrow wishes that he was a Gold and that both will always hunger for more. Darrow fears that this is true until Mustang interjects, revealing herself to the Jackal. She tells him that Darrow once had a family and he was happy, while the Jackal had everything and was miserable. She once loved him, but he threw this away. His curse is that he had love and lost it. Darrow adds that they are coming for him and when he hangs in low gravity, he will realize that all his actions were for nothing because no one cares enough to pull his fleet. They then end the call.

Darrow and Mustang, now alone, talk about what the future holds for them. Darrow says that they have their whole life ahead of them, and as they embrace, Darrow thinks about how glad he is to have her in his life.

Two months and three weeks after they destroyed the Sword Armada, Darrow’s fleet arrives at Luna. Instead of attacking Mars, as most expected, Darrow intends to strike the center of Gold power. The Ash Lord leads the Society navy in defense of the moon.

As they approach the moon, Darrow, Mustang, and Sevro go to Cassius’s cell. They have prepared a cargo crate with which Cassius will be smuggled to a ship and let free. Mustang has cleared the path there of guards. At Cassius’s cell, across from which is Antonia’s, they offer him the chance to leave if he never returns to the Society. Cassius agrees to this. Sevro unlocks the door and Cassius moves out into the hallway. He begins to say his goodbyes, but when he reaches Sevro, he knocks him off balance and grabs his gun. Cassius claims that it is his duty to serve the Society and orders them to get on their knees. Sevro responds that Howlers never kneel and reaches for his Razor, so Cassius shoots him in the chest.

Mustang convinces Cassius that the Sovereign will want Darrow alive. Cassius frees Antonia and then puts Darrow in restraints. He forces Darrow, Mustang, and Sevro into the crate they brought for Cassius. Using the route that Mustang had cleared, they board the prepared ship and fly out. Darrow thinks to himself that despite what he “knows,” he is afraid for what will happen next. (It later turns out that what he “knows” is that this is a ruse planned between he, Cassius, Sevro, and Mustang to get them access to the Sovereign.)

From within the crate, Darrow hears Cassius get into contact with Aja au Grimmus and tell her what he has done. Aja informs Cassius that the Jackal will take them from space to the Sovereign. Cassius and Darrow are both surprised by this news. Aja tells him that they knew that Darrow was never headed to Mars. The Martian navy is hiding on the other side of the moon, waiting to ambush Darrow’s fleet.

They arrive on the Jackal’s ship, where the Jackal’s Boneriders taunt Darrow. Lilath (the Jackal’s right-hand woman) checks Sevro’s pulse and then receives an order to prepare Darrow’s dominant hand to be cut off.

When the Jackal arrives, Darrow sees that he is wearing armor interlaced with Fitchner’s bones. Antonia gives him Sevro’s pistol, which he keeps as a trophy. The Golds receive word from the Ash Lord that the battle is beginning in space, but they do not yet spring their trap. The Jackal gives a speech to his Boneriders, chilling Darrow by incorporating many of his mannerisms and speaking patterns to inspire his soldiers. The Jackal orders Lilath to remain with the fleet as insurance and tells Cassius that he should have the honor of cutting off Darrow’s hand. Once Cassius cuts off Darrow’s hand, the Jackal takes it as another trophy.

Aja soon meets them on Luna, and she brings them deep under the moon. The group goes to a secret bunker known as the Dragon’s Maw from where the Sovereign is conducting the battle. The Golds have been broadcasting Darrow’s capture to his fleet non-stop in the hopes of demoralizing them. They intend to do the same with his execution.

Aside from the commanders in holo-conference, in the Sovereign’s room there are two Olympic Knights (the Truth and Joy Knights), several guards, and Lysander au Luna, the Sovereign’s grandson. The Knights congratulate Cassius and discuss the battle, saying that the Jackal’s trap is what will win it. Once the Sovereign has issued her orders, she turns to Cassius and greets him warmly. She asks Cassius if he knows about any plans of Darrow’s, to which he says that he thinks that Darrow is planning an attack on the Sovereign’s citadel. Mustang lies, saying that Sefi has already been snuck onto the moon and is leading 10,000 Obsidians to them. Worried that she is telling the truth, the Sovereign orders most of the guards to leave the room to prepare defenses. The Sovereign then has Antonia killed for fleeing at Ilium. Once this is done, the Sovereign says that it is time to deal with “the Red” (478).

The Sovereign arranges for Darrow’s execution to be publicized. Darrow taunts the Jackal until the Jackal tells the Sovereign that he wants to kill Darrow. Darrow notices that there is something odd in the Sovereign and the Jackal’s interactions. He does not know why the Jackal would put himself in the Sovereign’s bunker, as it gives her complete power over him. The Jackal must have something over her. The Jackal decides to shoot Darrow with Sevro’s gun. The Sovereign begins a broadcast and gives a speech about the dangers of the Rising and how they need to kill Darrow to have a happy Society. As the Sovereign reads out Darrow’s sentence, Darrow begins to howl. The Jackal tries to shoot him with Sevro’s gun, but it does not fire. In the moment of confusion that follows, Cassius strikes, revealing that the capture of Darrow and Mustang was a ruse to get them access to the Sovereign’s bunker.

Cassius kills the guards before anyone can react and then presses a button, unlocking Mustang and Darrow’s restraints. Pulling out a hidden knife, Darrow stabs the Sovereign numerous times. Before Aja can help, Mustang fires a pulse rifle at her, sending her flying into a wall. Darrow grabs the Jackal’s Razor off him and pins him to the floor with it, and then he and Mustang take more Razors. They help Cassius kill the Olympic Knights and confront Aja.

Aja is better armored and a more capable fighter than any of them. They try to wear her down by attacking simultaneously, but Aja still maintains the advantage. Cassius soon throws a needle at Darrow, who rushes to revive Sevro. Sevro had been wearing a prosthetic vest designed to look like he had been shot, and his heartbeat was stopped by a Haemanthus extract. Darrow plunges a syringe filled with Holiday’s snakebite drug into Sevro’s heart, shocking him awake.

Sevro quickly joins the fight, and between the four of them, they wear Aja down. Sevro soon kills her. As Aja dies, she apologizes to the dying Sovereign for failing to save her. The group then approaches the Sovereign, who asks Cassius why he has sided with the Rising. He says that it was because she lied. The holocube that Darrow gave him showed that Cassius’s family was killed by the Jackal’s soldiers with the Sovereign’s permission. Cassius then tells the Sovereign that she has no honor and that their world is broken. He hopes that the next one can be better.

In the Sovereign’s final moments, she asks them to stop the Jackal who, to their horror, has begun to laugh.

The Jackal reveals that he smuggled the nuclear bombs he stole onto Luna. He was able to make demands on the Sovereign because he threatened to detonate them if she did not do what he said. After the battle against the Rising was finished, she was going to resign and appoint him ruler. The Jackal warns that if they try to attack him, Lilath, who is still in outer space, will detonate a bomb every minute.

As Mustang tries to talk him out of doing this, the Jackal feels condescended to and so detonates the bombs, killing 5 million individuals. The Jackal tells Darrow that he wants Darrow to die by suicide. When Darrow hesitates, the Jackal detonates another bomb. Sevro realizes that most will think that the Rising did this. The Jackal wants Darrow’s legacy to be mass murder. Darrow considers the Jackal’s demand but quickly rejects it because it will leave the Jackal with power over those whom Darrow loves. Darrow rips out the Jackal’s tongue, thinking to himself that he should have done this at the Institute.

Lilath’s ship is hidden at the middle of the Society formation, meaning that it cannot be destroyed by the Rising. Lysdaner suggests that they contact the Ash Lord, and when they do, Lysdaner convinces him that Lilath is the cause of the bombs.

Lilath’s ship is fired upon by both navies, but Lilath detonates more than 12 bombs before it is finally destroyed. Due to the death of the Sovereign, broadcasted through the channel through which she wanted to show Darrow’s execution, the Gold navy breaks apart. Outside of the Dragon’s Maw, guards gather to storm in, but Mustang approaches them with the Scepter of the Sovereign in one hand and the head of Octavia au Lune in the other. The guards give up resistance to Mustang, and some begin to join her as she marches out onto the moon’s surface. Amid the chaos of the moon, Mustang acts as a leader, and the symbols of power that she carries lead to a rising tide of support. She moves toward the Senate, gathering a crowd.

Once she reaches the Senate, she takes the podium and tells them that she has killed the tyrant Octavia. She will now herald a new age, in which they have a choice to bend or break. Darrow leads most of the Senate in kneeling.

A week after Mustang’s ascension, she and Darrow stand together to prepare for the Jackal’s execution. The Jackal is then hanged but does not die immediately in the low lunar gravity. Mustang moves toward him, whispers something, and pulls his legs so that his neck breaks, showing him that he was loved in the end.

In the weeks following Mustang’s ascension, much of the Society navy defects to her and the Ash Lord falls back to Mercury. In his absence, Mustang has begun to dismantle the Gold hierarchy and thousands face charges of crimes against justice. Darrow hoped for rest after they killed the Sovereign but knows that he will still have to fight. Nevertheless, though change may be slow in coming, it comes without anarchy.

Earlier, Cassius said goodbye to Darrow. Though Mustang offered him a role in the new government, he felt that he had been living for others for too long. Cassius took Lysander with him, with the promise to raise him correctly, and offered Darrow back the House Mars Ring he took from him. Darrow told him to keep it, as it belonged to Julian. Cassius called Darrow brother once again and then departed.

Now, Mustang and Darrow fly to a remote coast on Earth. As they arrive on a beach, Darrow asks Mustang if he has passed her test. She finds it amusing that he noticed. She said that she needed to see if he could build, and it was a choice that he needed to make for not just her. A ship lands and Mustang kisses Darrow, telling him that she loves him more than almost anything. Darrow’s friends and family come out of the ship, with his mother carrying a young child. Darrow asks Mustang who it is, to which Mustang says that it is Pax, their son.

Pax was conceived after the Lion’s Rain (a rain of iron) on Mars and born while Darrow was captured by the Jackal. Mustang kept her pregnancy secret in case her enemies tried to use it against her, and she then hid Pax in the asteroid belt while she went to war. Her tests of Darrow were to see if he could be a father as well as a society builder. She almost told him in Tinos but was dissuaded by his mother, who said that Darrow needed to be a sword at that time and not a father.

Darrow knows that the war is not done but also that his friends will help him carry Eo’s dream forward until they can make a world fit for his son. Darrow says that, when Pax is old enough, he will tell Pax about the rage of Ares, the strength of Ragnar, the honor of Cassius, the love of Sevro, the loyalty of Victra, and the dream of Eo.