After the shame of this event, she accuses him of being unfaithful to her, in the hopes of ending their marriage contract, and provides proof in certain things she has noted, such as his luxurious perfumes and a second house that he rents. Hest is displeased with Alise's inability to produce an heir and comes for another one of his unpleasant attempts to impregnate her. Meanwhile, Alise has given up on all efforts to make Hest attracted, or even interested in her, as they have all been met with failure or worse. Leftrin hopes that he will never hear from the man again. Some time later, Captain Leftrin is blackmailed by a Chalcedean man, Sinad Arich, for passage to Trehaug. Leftrin agrees to give a contract to Swarge's wife so that they may be together and Swarge signs the contract.

The only remaining man to sign is Swarge, who admits that he is betrothed and does not want to be separated from his new wife-to-be. Captain Leftrin wants to give a lifetime contract to all of the workers to protect the secret of their illegal use of the forbidden substance. With some time having passed on the Tarman, the work with the wizardwood is finished. She ultimately decides that if she sold herself, she would demand a high price, and begins to use Hest's money freely to pursue her studies of dragons and Elderlings. She learns that the marriage was suggested by her childhood friend, Sedric. Agreeing, Alise begins to hope for a real marriage to her handsome suitor, but is desperately disappointed on her wedding night.

If she can provide him with an heir, he will fund her fancies, including her research of dragons, including a trip to study the hatchling dragons since he had caused her to miss a trip she had already planned to watch them hatch. When finally confronting him, he admits that he is not in love with her, but is wishing for a marriage of convenience for both of them. She is unsure of the attention she is getting from a handsome local Trader, Hest Finbok. Most of her time is consumed by her passion for dragons and her studies thereof. Sisarqua has turned into a dragon, naming herself Sintara, and is distraught to realize that her proportions are all wrong and she is not what she should be, and will likely never fly.Īlise Kincarron is a plain, freckled young woman, past the prime age for marriage and suspecting spinsterhood. She communicates with one when her father is almost killed and eaten. She is shocked to find that the new hatchlings are weak and malformed. Thymara, an 11-year-old girl with claws and scaling, consistent with Rain Wilds defects from birth, goes with her father to watch the hatching of the dragons. At first he thinks to sell it for an immense profit, but then decides to use it for his ship to protect it against the acidic river. The captain of the Tarman, Leftrin, comes across a piece of wizardwood, an encased dragon that has been washed away by the river. Sisarqua, a queen serpent, struggles to finish her casing and is assisted by Tintaglia. The Rain Wilds Council has agreed to help in exchange for her helping the Rain Wilds people in their war against Chalced. The last known dragon, Tintaglia, is overseeing this journey in the hopes that dragons will be reintroduced to the world. It is late in the year and the serpents are older than is normal to make the journey. The book opens as a group of sea serpents have nearly finished their long journey upriver to encase themselves so they might hatch into dragons.

A dragon keeper