At dawn in Cahlish, Saeris sits beside Everlayne, who remains unconscious from Malcolm’s venom. Everlayne looks peaceful, but black tendrils mark her jaw and her fingernails are darkened. Onyx sleeps at the foot of the bed, and Saeris notices signs that Ren has likely been keeping long vigils there too.

Saeris apologizes to Everlayne for leaving without saying goodbye after Everlayne protected her at the palace. As Saeris speaks, she hears the familiar voice of quicksilver telling her to open a gate. Saeris realizes Everlayne’s flower-shaped earrings are quicksilver, and when Saeris touches one, it liquefies into Saeris’s palm; a droplet lands on Everlayne and jolts Everlayne’s body awake.

The quicksilver speaks through Everlayne, but then another presence identifies itself as Edina. Edina says Everlayne is not being held back by Edina but is lost in shadow. Edina directs Saeris to the library to find a small, thick blue book with a butterfly on it, hidden among hundreds of stars. Edina warns that the rot has arrived and will spread across this realm and millions more unless Saeris finds the book and stops it.

Edina insists Saeris must not tell an unnamed man about the book, and Saeris lies that she understands. Edina also asks Saeris to make sure he knows Edina loved him and would do everything again. When Edina grips Saeris’s hand, Saeris’s God Binding runes burn, smoke, and blister; Edina says an Alchemist must seal her runes because their magic is endlessly pouring into her.

As Saeris begs for help, Edina fades and repeats that Saeris must find the book. The bedroom door bursts open, the pain disappears, and Saeris’s runes return to normal. Kingfisher enters, mud-spattered and pale, and asks why Saeris was calling his mother’s name, revealing Edina’s identity.