Inej proposes that she and Nina use the Menagerie delegation to reach the White Island, relying on the performers’ heavy cloaks and hoods to hide their identities. Kaz reveals that Matthias knows another route to the island, and Matthias confirms it exists but is difficult. When Jesper points out that the crew will be trapped once the prison escape is discovered, Kaz turns the threat of Black Protocol into a weapon: Wylan and Jesper will sabotage a ringwall gate to trigger the lockdown and strand Fjerdan forces inside the Ice Court.

Kaz lays out a new, far riskier plan that depends on split teams and precise timing. Wylan prepares false Menagerie tattoos for Nina and Inej, using Kaz’s lockpick and copper pyrite, while Nina uses her Grisha abilities to sink the marks into their skin and smooth Inej’s scars. Inej accepts the peacock feather as temporary “war paint,” forcing herself to reclaim a symbol tied to her captivity.

Before the teams separate, the crew acknowledges the danger with the Dregs’ farewell, “No mourners. No funerals.” Jesper and Wylan leave for their task, while Matthias asks Nina for a private word. Inej gives Kaz back his gloves, tells Kaz she will take her share and leave the Dregs after the job, and shares a charged but painful farewell with him; Kaz cannot say what Inej hopes to hear, and Inej recognizes that her future must lead away from Kaz.

Inej and Nina wait on the embassy roof until Tante Heleen and the Menagerie arrive. Inej identifies the group containing the Suli lynx and Kaelish mare, then she and Nina crawl through the ventilation ducts to the search room. After the guards leave the performers alone, Nina incapacitates the girls, and Inej and Nina bind and hide them. Nina steals the Kaelish girl’s red hair color, Inej takes the Suli costume, and both women disguise themselves in the Menagerie silks.

Nina creates a grotesque distraction by giving one guard a violent nosebleed and another sudden nausea, allowing Nina and Inej to leave the room amid chaos. In the rotunda, Nina flirts her way past a suspicious guard despite mismatched details in her papers. Inej is almost waved through, but the guard notices Inej’s oversized shoes and imperfect tattoo; a captain orders Inej detained with other suspicious guests for review, forcing Inej to silently urge Nina to continue alone.