Kaz wakes after badly needed rest, still injured and tense because the auction plan must proceed without retreat once announced. He recalls his earlier negotiations with Sturmhond, during which Kaz pressed the privateer for his true identity before trusting Ravka's bid. Sturmhond admits, indirectly but clearly, that he is the king of Ravka traveling in disguise because Kuwei is too important to risk through ordinary diplomacy.

Kaz accepts Sturmhond's concealed identity as long as the Ravkan side keeps its bargain, and the two seal the deal. Later, Jesper asks Kaz for the remaining parem as protection in case the auction draws Shu forces or Kherguud, but Kaz refuses. Kaz argues that Jesper's father values Jesper more than the farm and will not let Jesper make himself a martyr; when Jesper asks who Jordie was, Kaz says only that Jordie was someone Kaz trusted and did not want to lose.

Kaz wakes Nina, leaving Matthias behind because Matthias would draw attention, and travels with Nina and Inej through curfewed Ketterdam. Inej scouts around patrols while Kaz and Nina make their way to a morgue near the warehouse district. Inej keeps watch outside as Kaz picks the lock and enters with Nina, forcing himself into a place that evokes his worst memories of death and decay.

Inside the morgue, Kaz remembers the trauma that created his aversion to touch: surviving in the harbor while clinging to Jordie's corpse, later collapsing after unwanted physical contact, and adopting gloves as protection. He recalls trying to overcome the weakness for Imogen, only to fail during a job with Teapot and suffer a beating that made him become harsher, more ruthless, and more feared as Dirtyhands. Back in the present, Kaz and Nina locate a suitably decomposed corpse, and Kaz orders Nina to take what she needs for the plan.

Before dawn, Kaz gathers the crew in the clock tower above Colm's suite and reviews their separate roles for the auction: Wylan and Colm will wait in an empty bakery, Nina will go to the Barrel, Inej will take a rooftop position at the Church of Barter, and Kaz will enter with Matthias and Kuwei under stadwatch escort. Kaz reflects on Pekka Rollins, Jordie, and the way Pekka exploited two lonely boys' longing for home. Then Kaz rallies the crew, reminding them that their enemies do not truly know what they have accomplished together and urging them to show Ketterdam it chose the wrong fight.