On a bright morning at Baz House, Alizeh washes upstairs windows and tries to convince herself that the previous night’s terrors have passed. Her salves have eased the pain in her hands and throat, and she resolves not to fear the apothecarist, the prince, her missing handkerchief, her health, or even the devil.

Alizeh focuses on practical hope: that night she is scheduled to work inside the Lojjan ambassador’s estate, designing five gowns for a fee large enough to change her circumstances. She imagines earning enough sewing work to leave Baz House, rent a small room, and live quietly beyond the reach of cruelty.

As Alizeh works, a firefly hides against her skin. The creature had entered Baz House the night before when the prince opened the back door, and Alizeh recognizes it as a Jinn communiqué sent to guide her to its owner. The firefly’s arrival gives her rare companionship, but Alizeh cannot follow it outside because her movements are controlled by the household.

Alizeh’s thoughts turn to her past and the destiny she has abandoned. She was raised to lead and free the Jinn, and her icy blood marks her as a miraculous figure whose power can mature only with age, ancient magic in the Arya mountains, and a kingdom. With her family and allies dead and her identity forgotten, Alizeh now seeks only survival and obscurity.

At noon, Alizeh sees the Fesht boy approaching Baz House and feels unexpected delight, then panic when the boy goes to the front entrance instead of the kitchens as instructed. Alizeh fears the boy will be punished and that Alizeh will be cast out for promising him bread. Mrs. Amina catches Alizeh speaking, scolds Alizeh for failing to be invisible, then surprisingly says Alizeh has a guest and may meet him in the kitchen for fifteen minutes.

Alizeh hurries toward the kitchens, relieved and curious about how a street child could have been admitted. While whispering to the firefly, Alizeh realizes the creature is no longer in her sleeve, ending the chapter with the firefly missing just as the mysterious meeting is about to begin.