Well, turns out a stedding ain’t so safe after all. Not from religious zealotry, at any rate. The Children of the Light march into the area, taking Elyas, Perrin, and Egwene by surprise. Elyas tells them to run, and hightails it out of there. Despite the wolves’ attacks and Perrin taking out two of the Children with his axe, Perrin and Egwene are captured.
Elyas and Perrin exchange some words away from the campfire by the stedding’s pond. When Elyas asks Perrin about Egwene, Perrin admits he loves her. He even says that it’s not brotherly love, and makes it clear that if Rand weren’t in the picture, he’d be making his move. Theory confirmed!
Suddenly, both men receive a telepathic warning from the wolves. They run back to douse the fire, and Elyas tells them to run before vanishing into the night. Despite it being pitch black, Perrin effortlessly finds a hiding spot amidst the ruins of the Artur Hawkwing statue. That’s right — in addition to telepathically communicating with wolves, Perrin now has superhero-grade night vision. These abilities are cool and all, but there had better be some kind of lore and backstory behind them. Like why Perrin, and where do these powers come from? I’m waiting for answers, Mr. Jordan.
Perrin probably could have chosen a better hiding spot if it had been just him and Egwene — but hiding a horse tends to limit your options, and they can’t abandon Bela, right? What if she’s the Dragon Reborn? Perrin and Egwene wait, watching helplessly as men with torches sweep the camp in formation until they are discovered. The soldiers demand that they come out and drop their weapons. Hopper chooses this moment to tear out the throat of one of the mounted men, but a spear skewers and pins him to the ground. For half a heartbeat, Perrin freezes. Then rage takes him, and he charges with an axe in his hands — until a blow from the side sends him sprawling into darkness.
***
Perrin regains consciousness in a Whitecloak tent. He and Egwene are both securely bound, hand and foot. Geofram Bornhald greets them. He is the Lord Captain of the Children, and father to Dain Bornhald, whom we met in Baerlon. Also present is Jaret Byar, a goon who has a penchant for committing acts of violence first and asking questions never. When he is questioned, Perrin makes up a version of the truth that leaves out their involvement with shadowspawn and Aes Sedai. Bornhald doesn’t buy it and decides to keep the Emond’s Fielders captive. The good news? The Children are marching toward Caemlyn. The bad news? Perrin killed two Children — and the gallows are waiting.