Gabriel de León arrives before Dún Maergenn at the head of the Moonsthrone host, with Phoebe á Dúnnsair beside him and Ashdrinker drawn. From the ruined walls, Nikita Dyvok greets Gabriel with mockery, boasting that Ossway now belongs to Blood Dyvok. Gabriel answers with insults and open hatred, promising vengeance for the devastation Nikita has wrought.

Nikita then reveals Aaron de Coste at his side, enthralled and obedient. Aaron calls Nikita master, shattering Gabriel with the sight of a former brother-in-arms enslaved by the enemy. Phoebe steps forward next, displays the stolen vial as proof that Dyvok violated the Highlanders’ truce by stealing Fiáin strength, and rallies the Moonsthrone warriors to war.

Nikita responds by hurling massive stones from the battlements with ancien strength, forcing Gabriel, Phoebe, and the Highlander lines to scatter and withdraw until dawn. Inside the city, Nikita orders mortal scorched to hold the outer walls as expendable first defenders, foulbloods to form the next line, and highbloods to guard the upper approaches. Nikita sends Soraya to summon the Voss sisters, promising Dior as their father’s prize if they bring troops quickly.

Lilidh protests Nikita’s attempt to bargain away Dior, but Nikita asserts his authority as Priori and blames Lilidh’s truce for collapsing. Lilidh in turn exposes Kiara’s failure, revealing that Kiara lost the vial while pursuing Gabriel. Nikita publicly humiliates Kiara, strangles and throws her against a wall, rejects her declaration of love, and orders her scorched to the defenses while the court turns on her.

Later, Dior is locked in Lilidh’s boudoir while the Dyvok prepare for battle. Reyne reaches Dior through the secret bookshelf and celebrates Gabriel’s arrival as salvation, explaining that Dior’s blood has already freed several useful guards and that dawn may give them a chance to strike Lilidh while Nikita is occupied. Dior refuses to accept a plan that lets enslaved mortals die on the walls, insisting the scorched are victims forced to fight.

As Dior and Reyne argue, tenderness and attraction briefly surface between them, but Reyne says there is no time for sweeter things. Dior decides they must buy time for the innocents outside and asks Celene, the blood-mote, to contact Gabriel and convince him to delay the attack. Though Celene fears facing Gabriel because of her role in his fall at Cairnhaem, she chooses faith over fear and agrees to go.