At dawn on the solstice, Aelin goes into the slums market to buy breakfast while the city begins its subdued celebrations. The quiet morning offers little comfort: execution-square corpses still draw crows, and Aelin is aware that the prepared mission will soon force her to face the king, possibly kill Dorian, and risk death or enslavement if Lorcan has betrayed them.

Aelin reflects that Lysandra and Evangeline have had their brothel tattoos formally removed and left their old life behind. Although Lysandra repeatedly offered to help, Aelin ordered Lysandra to leave Rifthold with Evangeline and go to Nesryn’s country home, giving both women a chance at freedom and safety before the strike.

While buying pastries and meat pies, Aelin is distracted enough to start drawing her sword when the vendor merely asks for payment. The vendor mentions that people are unsettled by strange messages appearing near major markets, written in a dark substance that looks like blood.

Aelin follows the crowd to a dead-end alley and sees a message painted in giant black letters with the unmistakable stench of Valg blood. The words identify the warning as payment for a life debt and address Aelin as “Witch Killer,” revealing that the human is still inside Dorian.

The message changes Aelin’s understanding of the coming confrontation. Instead of assuming Dorian is wholly lost and must be killed, Aelin now has reason to believe Dorian can still be reached, altering the emotional and strategic stakes of the mission.