The second trial begins in the middle of the night on the Lodge lawn, where Sel announces a campus-wide scavenger hunt. The remaining eight Pages must solve riddles leading to aether-formed objects, and the six with the most objects after three hours will advance. Tor adds the danger: the more objects a Page collects, the more Sel’s aether hellhounds will be drawn to that Page; being cornered or injured means automatic failure.

Each Page is assigned a non-sponsor monitor, but Sel changes the expected pairings at the last moment. Instead of letting Nick accompany Bree, Sel assigns himself to monitor her and orders Nick to remain in the Lodge behind the wards. Nick objects, but Sel asserts his authority as current chapter leader and Kingsmage until Nick claims Excalibur, forcing Nick to stand down.

Bree and Sel head into campus, and Bree quickly realizes the clues are riddles. Their tense exchange turns personal when Bree asks why Sel is watching her so closely. Sel suggests she may be an uchel demon planted in the Order, while Bree pushes back by referencing what she now knows about Merlins being part demon. Sel angrily insists he is not “born of shadows,” showing how deeply he resents her suspicion even as he continues suspecting her.

Bree finds the first object, a glowing stone mug in a piano room, and learns that Sel is holding the aether objects in shape from a distance. She is startled by the scale of his power: he created all forty objects, can sense them remotely, and can reinforce them if needed. As the hunt continues, Bree solves several more clues across campus, collecting a jewelry box, mug, flashlight, tiny key, and candle, while Sel silently shadows her and offers little help.

With an hour left, Bree interprets a clue about “the first” and “the oldest” as pointing to the graveyard, recalling Patricia’s mention of the first young DiPhi boy buried in the late 1700s. As they search among the graves, Bree presses Sel on why he thinks she is Shadowborn. Sel cites her resistance to mesmer, ease with the Sight, ability to See the isel at the Quarry, and apparent influence over Nick, then explains that demon activity is increasing at school chapters along the coast and that Nick’s safety matters to the Order’s stability before Arthur’s Call.

The conversation turns to Nick’s mother, whom Bree defends as someone who tried to protect Nick after being deeply mesmered. Sel dismisses this, saying she tried to kidnap Nick and that “the Line is Law,” which disgusts Bree. As Bree continues searching the graveyard, Sel suddenly disappears. A low growl sounds behind Bree, and she realizes a hellhound has found her, so she runs.