Sel forces Bree silent inside an illusion-hidden tunnel while three hellfoxes search just above them. After the demons move on, Sel explains that the founders built the underground passages as warded escape routes that mask aether from Shadowborn, and he avoids returning to the Lodge because he does not want to lead the creatures to Nick.

As Bree and Sel move through the tunnels, Sel questions Bree about the red aether she produced during the attack. Sel says aether should not be creatable, only manipulated, so Bree’s ability defies the laws every Merlin has been taught. Bree insists she does not know what she is, and Sel believes she is telling the truth, though he warns that he may still turn her over to the Regents if she threatens Nick or the chapter.

Sel reveals that his earlier cruelty was partly a deliberate attempt to provoke Bree because he suspected she might be Shadowborn. He now decides she is uncontrolled rather than an immediate threat, but still calls Bree and Nick foolish for bringing Bree into the Order without understanding her power. Sel leads Bree to a surface exit on the edge of campus, planning to retrieve hidden weapons if the hellfoxes have somehow tracked them.

When Bree and Sel emerge, the hellfoxes ambush them again. Sel fights two of them, and Bree runs for the hidden weapons, but one demon intercepts Bree. As the hellfox leaps onto Bree, Bree’s red flames ignite, and Bree’s fist punches into the creature’s chest, killing it. Sel kills another hellfox with a spear, then pulls the dead demon off Bree when its body cannot dissolve while Bree’s arm is trapped inside it.

Bree vomits and shakes after the fight while Sel notices the red power burning hellfox blood off Bree’s skin like a shield. Evan, Tor, Nick, and Sarah find them soon after; Tor has been Awakened and recovered unusually fast. Sel explains that three nearly materialized hellfoxes ambushed them, but Evan and Nick press Sel on how he failed to sense them.

Sel admits he was distracted because he had staged the hellhound encounter to expose Bree as a possible Shadowborn mole. Furious that Sel endangered Bree, Nick punches Sel, exploiting the fact that Sel cannot strike his future king in return. Nick orders Sel to stay away from Bree, then helps Bree toward William for treatment while Bree looks back and sees the Shadowborn dust vanish around Sel.