Summary

In Chapter 27, Marek and Queen Hanna are outside the tower with 6,000 men, ready to attack. They have Solya with them and Agnieszka knows he will use magic to further their cause, just as they are using magic to defend the tower. Sarkan urges Agnieszka to get some sleep, but she goes to his chamber and climbs into bed with him. His first words are that he is more than 100 years older than she. She says that is a ridiculous excuse. They have sex. Later they talk about Sarkan's reason for choosing a girl every 10 years. He points out that they are all so bound to the valley that Sarkan is able to use that connection to “siphon away some of the Wood's strength” (355). Sarkan says that he could not connect himself without risking becoming bound. Agnieszka is upset that Sarkan “used our connection...