After the failed meeting with Patricia and Mariah, Bree arrives at the Lodge emotionally raw and uninterested in socializing. She keeps replaying Patricia and Mariah’s reaction to her belief that the Order killed Faye, and she rejects the idea of acceptance. Instead, Bree frames herself as her family’s Scion and decides that her duty is to fight for the dead women in her line.

In the Lodge basement training room, the six remaining Pages gather for combat trial preparation. Gillian Hanover and Owen Roberts introduce themselves as the coaches and explain that the Pages will be assessed in Page-against-Page bouts so the chapter and Scions can evaluate potential Squires. Vaughn easily answers questions about the inherited weapons and abilities of Arthur, Owain, and Gawain’s Lines, underscoring how far behind Bree remains in Order knowledge.

Sel arrives without explanation to demonstrate quarterstaff combat with Owen. Bree can smell Sel’s fury in his casting and recognizes that his calm exterior is a mask. During the demonstration, Sel fights with inhuman speed and precision, overwhelms Owen, and eventually forces Owen to concede after a blow to the head. Owen leaves for William’s infirmary, while Sel dismisses his aether staff and exits without acknowledging Bree.

Gillian then personally trains Bree with the quarterstaff and makes clear that Bree’s outsider status will not earn her mercy. Gillian teaches basic strikes, blocks, and footwork through punishing repetition, deliberately letting pain create incentive for improvement. After three brutal hours, Nick arrives, and Gillian judges Bree to be only as skilled as Nick was at eight years old. Nick helps Bree up and tells her William is waiting.

On the way home, Bree falls into an exhausted, aether-drugged sleep and dreams of Faye, smoke, aether armor, kneeling Regents, herself as Nick’s Squire, Nick pulling away, and a blood-smeared graveyard sinking into darkness. The next day, Patricia comes to Bree’s dorm after Bree avoids her calls. Patricia diagnoses Bree’s grief as traumatic and warns that Bree is fixating on Faye’s death rather than remembering Faye’s life.

Patricia tells Bree that revenge will not bring Faye back and challenges Bree’s belief that proof and vengeance will make her feel better. Patricia then ends their therapeutic relationship, saying she cannot endorse Bree’s involvement with the Order. Before leaving, Patricia explains that Bloodcraft creates a debt paid in suffering and death, which makes Bree connect the Order’s long history, its Oaths, and the Abatement to a terrible accumulated cost.