Saeris’s surprise presentation of Foley as a Lord petitioner throws the Blood Court into uproar. When the high bloods begin pelting Foley, Saeris stops them by naming Foley a friend to the throne, invoking her coronation edict so no member of the court can harm him.

Algat arrives furious and argues Foley cannot serve because Foley refused to swear fealty to Sanasroth. Saeris counters by citing the Hazrax as a long-standing Lord who never swore fealty, and when Algat tries to force her way into Saeris’s mind, Saeris retaliates with a psychic strike that leaves Algat bleeding and shaken. Foley then clarifies that Foley refused Malcolm, not Saeris, and offers Saeris his oath.

Foley kneels before Saeris, cuts his hand, and swears lifelong service, saying he has remembered that he is a wolf. Saeris accepts Foley’s loyalty, offers the protection of her house, and names Foley Lord of Midnight. Privately, Foley admits he chose Saeris because Kingfisher follows her, which convinces Foley she is worth following too.

The ceiling panels open as the evenlight arrives, filling the sky and recharging the palace’s flames. The spectacle quiets the court and turns the ball into a fervent celebration. Saeris, however, thinks of the people absent from the ball: Te Léna and Maynir watching Everlayne, Danya at the war camp, Iseabail scrying for Ren, Lorreth sent to the warriors, and Carrion left at Cahlish to keep an eye on Hayden after Saeris’s painful argument with her brother.

Kingfisher asks Saeris to dance, and their banter shifts into a vulnerable exchange about the dresses he keeps leaving for her. Saeris confesses the gifts make her fear he is trying to domesticate her, but Kingfisher explains they are an invitation to softness, not a demand that she become weaker or less herself. He then shows her a beautiful poisonous flower called Veridius, or Widow’s Bane, to prove that beauty and danger can coexist.

The moment is shattered when high bloods across the hall begin vomiting black blood and collapsing. Taladaius reveals that he has judged the Blood Court, saying the thralls now carry vials that will either painfully return the vampires to living Fae bodies or, if refused, leave them to die. Kingfisher confronts Taladaius, who says he made the hard choice so Saeris and Fisher would not have to; then Taladaius drinks a heavier dose himself, asks Saeris to tell Everlayne he is sorry, and falls convulsing.