Jude and Madoc finalize three traps for Orlagh’s expected attack at Taryn’s wedding: an enchanted boat with an Oak decoy, a staged moment in Locke’s maze with treefolk hidden in the hedges, and a false arrival scene near the shore with sprites and a buried net. Cardan’s guards and spies are also put on alert. Jude then packs for Taryn’s last night before the wedding and rides alone to Madoc’s estate.

On the road, seven masked riders on skeletal, pearl-eyed horses ambush Jude. Because Jude is poorly equipped for mounted combat and has left Nightfell tied to the saddlebag, Jude tries to outrun the riders toward Madoc’s stronghold but is herded away. Jude abandons the horse, climbs into the trees, and uses the Ghost’s training to evade arrows, but an arrow strikes Jude in the thigh.

Recognizing that the riders can see better in the dark and will wear Jude down, Jude changes tactics. Jude leaps from the tree with a stolen axe, wounds or kills one rider, kills another rider’s horse from below, and makes the remaining attackers retreat to recover their trapped companion. Jude retrieves Nightfell from the dead horse, loses the pack containing Taryn’s earrings and clothing, and painfully reaches Madoc’s stronghold.

Inside, Oriana quietly reveals her fear that sending Oak away from Faerie will cost Oriana Oak’s love. Jude explains that Oak is safer away from court politics, Balekin, Cardan’s enemies, and Orlagh, then reassures Oriana that Oak will still love her. Jude hides the attack from Madoc, cuts the antler arrowhead from the wound, and, with Vivi’s reluctant help, stitches the injury in secret while refusing to involve Taryn, Madoc, or anyone else.

The next morning, Jude wakes in Jude’s childhood room, shaken by the feeling of being Madoc’s loyal daughter again before remembering the past months of poison, power, and betrayal. Jude refuses to call for a surgeon because doing so would make Jude dependent on Madoc. Oriana lends Jude a daring silver dress, servants prepare Jude for the wedding, and the family gathers around Taryn, who looks happy, beautiful, and painfully vulnerable.

In the carriage to Locke’s estate, the hob decoy changes clothes with Oak as part of the trap. Taryn tells Jude that marriage will make things different because Madoc has promised to keep Locke in line, and asks whether Jude is truly happy for her. Jude answers that Jude wants Taryn to be happy, and the family arrives at Locke’s lavish wedding grounds, where the planned danger is about to begin.