Kingfisher and Lorreth return to Ammontraíeth with a sack of severed feeder heads from the attack in Irrín. Saeris is relieved to see Kingfisher alive after worrying about him, while Carrion irritates the room with jokes and argues that, as heir to Yvelia, he should remain for the discussion.

Taladaius arrives and examines the heads. Lorreth directly asks whether Taladaius created them, but Taladaius denies it and says the magic is beyond him: decapitated feeders should not remain animated. Lorreth explains that the feeders absorbed Renfis’s and Kingfisher’s power, while Kingfisher privately reassures Saeris that Te Léna helped them recover.

Through their mental bond, Kingfisher asks Saeris to return to Cahlish with him, and Saeris agrees on the condition that Kingfisher help her train properly. Saeris admits she does not intend to play queen forever and needs to learn to use Solace. Kingfisher agrees but warns that Lorreth may be better suited to true combat training because Kingfisher cannot attack his mate with real intent.

Carrion interrupts with an observation: the feeders are not from Yvelia but from Zilvaren. He points out a mark on one feeder’s neck, and Saeris recognizes it as a sterilization mark like her own. Carrion also notes their round ears, proving they are human. Taladaius explains that deadstock decay within years and that these feeders have been dead only weeks or months, so they cannot be ancient humans left in Yvelia from before the blood curse.

Saeris wonders whether people from Zilvaren are accidentally entering the quicksilver whenever the gates open, but Kingfisher rejects that as impossible. Because Zilvaren’s people do not know where Yvelia is and could not easily access the Hall of Mirrors, Kingfisher concludes the feeders were sent intentionally by Madra and may explain how the rot first reached Yvelia. As Saeris’s quicksilver whispers intensify, she realizes there is a quicksilver pool in Ammontraíeth, and Taladaius reluctantly confirms it.