Iron Gold

The battle between Apollonius’s fleet and the Ash Lord’s defenses begins. Darrow and the Howlers are projected onto the planet’s surface. They land in the middle of the fighting, and the battle starts quickly. While fighting to get to the tower at the island’s center, Darrow spies new ships being prepared on the Ash Lord’s airfield. He leads the Howlers to the airfield to eliminate the pilots, but some Howlers are killed in the process. A sniper suddenly hits Darrow and discards his damaged armor. Sevro kills the sniper with a bomb that blasts a hole through the Ash Lord’s defenses. Darrow sees an army of Peerless Scarred readying to join the battle.

Darrow and the Howlers cut through the army of Golds, but more Howlers are killed. Darrow tries to rally his men to the tower’s roof, but an Obsidian incapacitates him. He is about to be killed when Apollonius arrives and kills his attacker. His army has successfully overtaken the Ash Lord’s defenses and Darrow, Sevro, and the few surviving Howlers prepare to finally enter the tower.

Lysander is awoken in the middle of the night by a servant who secretly takes him to Gaia’s rooms. Gaia is Romulus’s elderly mother and, although she pretends to be senile, Lysander noticed during dinner with the Raas that she is still sharp. She and Lysander trade pleasantries and Lysander, noticing a piano in the room, asks her to play a requiem for their dead loved ones, Cassius and Gaia’s grandchildren. When Gaia starts playing, Lysander is overwhelmed by a distant memory of his mother. He starts to play the piano, shocked because he does not remember learning to play.

Eventually, Gaia asks for his help. She does not want Romulus to be tried the next day and disagrees with Dido’s war. She enlists Lysander and Pytha, the pilot from Archimedes, who he happily reunites with, to free Romulus from his cell. Her daughter Vela’s army is waiting outside the city to attack Dido’s forces. Gaia then orders Goroth, her faithful Obsidian servant, to take Lysander and Pytha to the cells, and arms Lysander with her razor.

Goroth takes Lysander and Pytha to the cells through secret tunnels carved into the mountain. When the Obsidian opens a door leading to the cells, Lysander attacks him. He is unable to kill Goroth but cuts off his hand before the Obsidian flees through the tunnels. Lysander orders Pytha to stand down and waits to be taken by Dido’s soldiers, having decided to side with her.

Later, after recounting his story and Gaia’s betrayal to Dido and Seraphina, Lysander explains that he betrayed Gaia because he supports Dido’s war. Dido orders Seraphina to reason with Gaia while she sends people to look for Goroth in the dark, unmapped tunnels. She also tells Lysander that she has arranged for Romulus’s trial to end with an acquittal—there is no evidence of his treason, and she needs the support of his people. Romulus will have no choice but to side with Dido and lead the war with her, so they will decide Lysander’s fate together.

Ephraim and Holiday plan for Ephraim to request an audience with the Duke and, once he has located Pax and Electra, call Holiday’s forces to the rescue. After Ephraim contacts the Syndicate, the Duke’s men take him to the Duke’s location but put a distortion hood on him so he cannot keep track of where they are going. With the Duke, Ephraim pretends that, after seeing the Syndicate in action, he has developed more ambition and greed.

The Duke is initially wary, but Ephraim convinces him that they could work together. Their conversation becomes more seductive, and the Duke orders his servants out of the room. Once they are alone, Ephraim attacks the Duke, quickly overpowering him. He then calls Holiday, who informs him that he is on Endymion, much farther than they expected. It will take two hours for her troops to arrive. Trapped and desperate to escape the Duke’s Obsidians, Ephraim decides to rescue the children himself. He takes the Duke hostage and they go down to the building’s lower levels. Ephraim kills the guards and forces the Duke to open the safe, which contains Pax, Electra, and riches beyond his imagination.

Ephraim tells the children that he is there to free them. Pax and Electra are dubious, recognizing him as their kidnapper, but eventually agree to follow him. In the safe, the children find some razors, and Ephraim steals some gems and an original Dalí painting. The Duke’s men are waiting outside, so Ephraim threatens the Duke’s life and orders them to stand down.

Still dragging the Duke along, he leads the children back up to the Duke’s chambers. He plans on using the Duke’s private ship to escape but realizes that Gorgo, the Duke’s right-hand man, is waiting for him. Just as the escapees board the ship, Gorgo fires on Ephraim through the Duke’s body. Ephraim leaves the Duke behind and takes flight with the children, then calls the Sovereign. He demands Volga’s immediate release in exchange for the children’s location. However, Ephraim has been seriously injured by Gorgo’s shot, and Pax orders him to take them directly to the Citadel.

Although she has not entirely forgiven Ephraim, Lyria decides to let go of her anger after Holiday shares the horrors of his past. They then join the Sovereign, Theodora, and Daxo, who are discussing whether Virginia should tell the Senate about her son’s kidnapping. The Sovereign refuses, arguing that the Senate would then remove her from her position. She would not be able to stop the peace talks, which she realizes are a ploy by the Ash Lord.

Virginia then asks Lyria for her forgiveness for not protecting Mars like she promised to do, and Lyria offers it in honor of her family’s memory. Lyria then agrees to testify to the Senate in exchange for Liam’s safety and care. Later that night, Lyria is attacked in her room by a woman sent by Victra, who shoots her with a paralyzing agent.

Darrow and Sevro finally reach the Ash Lord’s chambers. Inside, they are shocked to find the former ruler weakened by a deadly sickness, kept alive by life-support machines. The Ash Lord mocks their surprise as they realize that with the Ash Lord incapacitated, his daughter Atalantia has been at his armies’ helm.

The Ash Lord reveals that Pax and Electra have been taken, and the Republic’s forces are more divided than ever. Darrow realizes with dread that the war is starting over. When Apollonius joins them, he reveals that he is the one who poisoned the Ash Lord three years earlier. Heartbroken and despairing, Darrow orders Apollonius to burn the Ash Lord alive.

Lysander attends Romulus’s trial, along with the Raa family and an audience of Golds. Dido only presents one charge against her husband: gross negligence during wartime. She does not accuse him of treason, knowing that his sentence would be death. She then presents Seraphina’s evidence, witness testimonies, and additional footage of Darrow and Romulus during the war. She argues that Romulus shouldn’t have taken Darrow at his word and agreed to a peace treaty.

Romulus pleads guilty to negligence and the trial seems over, but a Fate (a White justice official) asks for a treason charge to be brought forward. This time, despite Dido’s protests, Romulus confesses that he knew of Darrow’s deceit and conspired to hide it from his people for the sake of peace. The audience is enraged, and Dido and her children watch in shock as Romulus is sentenced to death.

According to tradition, Romulus must walk naked toward his ancestors’ tomb through Io’s frozen, toxic atmosphere until death ensues. The Raas gather to watch their father, who says his goodbyes one by one. He comforts his family and expresses his enduring love for Dido. Romulus also takes Lysander aside and asks him to prevent the war. He says that should they fight, the Moon Lords must be united to defeat the Republic. Lysander is awed by Romulus’s spirit and inspired to follow in his footsteps as a protector of his people. Finally, Romulus takes off his suit and proudly walks toward the monument until he freezes to death.

Lysander visits a grief-stricken Dido to offer his condolences. When he tells her that he wants to take part in her war, she is initially dismissive. However, she agrees when Lysander explains that he wants to unite the Golds of the Rim and the Society in order to keep his promise to Romulus.

Although Ephraim is still severely injured, Electra patches up his wounds. Ephraim receives a call from the Queen of the Syndicate. She threatens him and asks him to return the children. When he refuses, she takes control of the ship remotely and starts driving it back to the Syndicate. In a desperate attempt to thwart her, Ephraim sets up grenades near the ship’s gravity thrusters. He and the children buckle up, hoping to survive the ensuing crash, and the ship blows up.

Darrow leaves the Ash Lord’s chambers and reunites with the Howlers, who are shocked to learn what happened. Despite feeling heartbroken about his son, Darrow decides not to return to Luna. He tells the others that he plans on joining his fleet, yet unaware of the oncoming attack, and retakes his position at the armies’ head. Sevro, who only wishes to be with his own family, does not understand Darrow’s decision, and they part on bad terms.

Darrow and the remaining Howlers board the Ash Lord’s shuttle while Sevro takes Nessus. As Darrow prepares to leave, Apollonius approaches him to remind him of his promises. Darrow disarms the bomb in Apollonius’s head and finally assumes his role as the Reaper once again.