Quicksilver

Fisher finds Saeris in the war room and takes her back through the shadow gate to Cahlish, leaving Ren and Carrion at the camp for the night. Fisher peevishly insists Saeris no longer share food with Carrion but refuses to explain himself. She wants to talk about the voice from the other riverbank. Though she privately worries for Fisher, she insists she is merely protecting her own self-interests, as another Fae might not let her go home.

Fisher explains that Malcolm, the leader of the vampires, is more rational than the other vampires because he was originally high Fae. When the cure for the Fae’s blood curse (as discussed in Chapter 9) was discovered, most Fae took it. Malcolm, wishing for true immortality (instead of merely the extremely long lives of the Fae), did not. When Malcolm bites someone, that person becomes a vampire but retains their cognitive faculties. But when Malcolm-created vampires bite someone, the person dies and becomes an animated corpse—these are the Feeders. Much of the horde was once human. Saeris asks if Fisher was with Malcolm during his exile, but he doesn’t answer. She realizes that he is bound by magic to keep silent and that his rudeness is a tactic to keep others at bay.