The Young Elites

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence, illness and death, emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual content, and self-harm.

Adelina wakes from a nightmare: She was comforting Violetta during a storm and then realized Violetta was Formidite, Angel of Fear, daughter of Death. It is morning. Adelina considers running away but decides she has no choice but to try to become a Dagger.

Raffaele fetches Adelina and takes her into the catacombs beneath the building. They wind through passages that connect parts of the city and pathways that go to Elite safehouses. The twists and turns are too complex for memory. Raffaele prays to Moritas, goddess of Death, when they arrive at huge, locked doors. He works a gemstone lock to a cavernous chamber where Enzo and other Daggers await: Spider, Star Thief (with an eagle on her shoulder), and Windwalker.

Enzo asks the Daggers to help Adelina summon her powers of illusion by provoking her. The light disappears, which scares Adelina—the threat of blindness is always a fear, as she has but one good eye. In the dark, bats fly at her. Spider attacks her physically, slicing her arms with a blade.