In a shared dream in Ballard, Saeris and Kingfisher rest in a sunlit clearing while trying to process the fallout from the Evenlight Ball. Kingfisher is furious that Iseabail did not search for Renfis and that Cahlish has been left with Tal badly injured, Zovena and Iseabail confined, Ammontraíeth devastated, and Saeris bearing a mysterious third rune after saving Tal from the gateway spell.

Saeris draws Kingfisher out of his anger by asking him to hold her, a rare moment of vulnerability that softens him. Kingfisher presses Saeris to talk about the cure for the blood curse, and Saeris admits her fear that Iseabail’s cure may fail, kill her, or return her to mortality instead of making her Fae.

Kingfisher answers Saeris’s fears by saying that if Saeris becomes human, ages, and dies, Kingfisher will follow her rather than live without her. Saeris is moved by Kingfisher’s certainty and realizes that Saeris wants not only Kingfisher’s body but also his mind, soul, and a quiet future with him. The dream’s peace ends before the two can remain in that refuge.

Back at Cahlish before sunrise, Saeris heads toward the forge to question Iseabail about the cure and its effects. Carrion intercepts Saeris, sleep-deprived and carrying books, and asks for help determining whether Carrion is going mad. Saeris reluctantly agrees for ten minutes after Carrion reveals he has been researching Yvelian court matters, Winter Court history, and possibly what it would mean to reclaim a throne.

In Carrion’s crowded bedroom, Saeris finds Onyx accidentally shut inside a wardrobe and notices Carrion has filled the room with books, plants, drawings, whiskey, and stolen or relocated objects. Carrion shows Saeris that plants in the room are growing and blooming unnaturally whenever Carrion speaks, including a plant that should release spores rather than flowers. Saeris confirms Carrion is not imagining it, suggesting Carrion may have awakened or revealed an unusual magic tied to growth.

Before Saeris can respond further, the estate begins to shake. Saeris and Carrion look outside and see thousands of figures emerging from the forest. At first Saeris fears a feeder horde, but the approaching force is revealed to be the ten thousand warriors from Irrín, marching on Cahlish with Lorreth of the Broken Spire at their head.