In Ammontraíeth’s library, Lorreth faces Foley, the vampire he calls brother, after believing he might never see him again. Their reunion is tense and angry, but Algat interrupts long enough to give Saeris the promised book, Elemental Runes and Their Purposes, while forbidding Saeris from removing other library books or returning during Algat’s working hours.

After Algat leaves, Foley remains hostile toward Saeris. Foley distrusts Saeris because she is a vampire, carries Kingfisher’s dagger, and now rules Sanasroth. When Foley insults Saeris and implies she may have taken the blade from Fisher’s corpse, Lorreth violently intervenes, dangling Foley out through the hole Saeris made in the library wall and revealing that Fisher gave Saeris the dagger because Saeris is Fisher’s mate.

Saeris challenges Foley’s hypocrisy, since Foley is also a vampire. Foley explains that he did not choose his transformation, has tried and failed to end his existence, and lives in the library because Ammontraíeth has fewer living creatures for him to endanger. Foley says he once considered Kingfisher family, was trained by Kingfisher, and still holds to the oath he swore to defend the living against vampires, even though he now is one.

When Saeris prepares to leave with Algat’s book, Foley objects, but Saeris asserts her authority as queen. Foley then notices the book’s title and questions Saeris, learning that she is an Alchemist, God-Bound to Fisher, covered in uncontrolled runes, and responsible for the recent damage to the tower. Foley identifies Saeris’s lack of sleep as a major danger, explaining that Alchemists need rest to regulate their power and that vampire restlessness can be managed through trance-like focus.

Lorreth asks whether Foley can use his grandfather’s knowledge and the library’s books to help seal Saeris’s runes. Foley agrees to help for Kingfisher’s sake, but refuses to begin immediately because Saeris is exhausted and Foley needs time to verify what he knows. Saeris reluctantly accepts Foley’s conditions and agrees to return the next evening after sleeping.