Saeris and Carrion follow Taladaius into his chambers after realizing the tension behind his door was sexual, not hostile. Tal is unabashed about the naked Fae females in his room and explains that the arrangement is voluntary: the females receive the pleasure and euphoria of his venom while Tal feeds from them. The scene also prompts Carrion to notice Tal calling him Daianthus, and Saeris asks whether Carrion wants others to use his birth name. Carrion declines, saying Swift is as much his name as any other.

Saeris tries to speak to Carrion about Gracia, but Carrion shuts the conversation down before Tal returns. Tal explains that he had the tomb door barred because Lorreth reported that Belikon’s advisor and guards had slipped through the quicksilver while Saeris was last in the tomb. Tal admits he posted Anterrin and Khol to alert him if more intruders appeared, since Saeris keeps leaving without warning. Tal then gives Saeris a dagger left behind by Belikon’s men, saying touching it nearly destroyed him; Saeris identifies it as a null blade, though she does not understand what it is.

Yanica, the royal master tailor, arrives looking for Saeris to measure her for the Evenlight Ball. Saeris learns that the ball is mandatory because the ruler of the Blood Court must open the celebrations. Tal also reveals that this year’s ball will serve as a selection evening to replace Ereth as the fifth Lord of Midnight, since Kingfisher killed him. Saeris resists overseeing the choice, but Tal insists that avoiding the event would damage Saeris’s authority, and Saeris reluctantly submits to Yanica’s measurements.

Later, Saeris carries the null blade to the library despite its painful, oppressive effect on her body and runes, deciding the weapon must be studied rather than discarded. Carrion remains behind for his fitting. In the silent library, Saeris calls for Algat but receives no answer, then follows Kingfisher’s scent through the stacks. Stargazers begin to gather around Saeris, first curiously and then in overwhelming numbers, until Saeris runs from the swarm.

The stargazers form a beautiful cyclone around Saeris, then one cuts Saeris’s cheek. Instead of attacking further, the birds stop, unfold, and fall as paper pages filled with writing about Alchemical magic. Saeris realizes the stargazers have secretly been the pages of a hidden book for centuries. The pages assemble themselves into a navy-covered book marked with a silver butterfly and a note from Edina: it is for Saeris, and thanks Saeris for loving Edina’s son. Saeris understands that the cut tested her blood to confirm the book had found its intended reader.

When Kingfisher finds Saeris, Saeris remembers Edina’s command not to tell him about the book. Saeris nevertheless chooses honesty and gives Kingfisher the book, explaining what Edina told her in Cahlish. Kingfisher reads enough to understand, becomes emotional, and returns it to Saeris. Although the book contains his mother’s words, Kingfisher refuses to read it further, saying he trusts Edina and trusts Saeris; whatever the book reveals is meant for Saeris alone.