In the command tent, Gabriel confronts Celene rather than simply guarding her. He reveals that he knows she mixed her blood into the Montfort wine, causing him to dream of her and become partly bound to her. He also realizes that Celene consumed an Ilon vampire named Victorine and stole the power to Push emotions, which she used on the Cairnhaem bridge to deepen Gabriel’s wrath and drive him toward violence against Dior.

Celene admits the manipulation but argues that she could not allow Gabriel to take the Grail to the Highlands because she believes Dior’s destiny is the realm’s salvation and her own escape from damnation. Gabriel rejects Celene’s attempt to place the blame for her suffering on him, saying Laure Voss and God bear more responsibility than the boy he was. He keeps Celene close until Dior’s deadline and asks whether Dior can manage the danger inside Maergenn, while Celene warns that Dior is on thin ice and Lilidh remains a hidden threat.

The confrontation softens when Gabriel tells Celene she does not need to hide her ruined face from him because she is still his sister and his only remaining family. Celene recalls their childhood after Amélie’s death, when Gabriel promised to come if Celene ever called for him in the dark. Celene explains that Gabriel’s later silence, especially his unanswered letters while away, left her feeling abandoned in Lorson.

Celene then recounts the day Laure Voss found Celene with Philippe Ramos, a young mason’s son who intended to ask Celene for marriage. Celene had planned to leave Lorson for adventure rather than accept a small domestic life, and Laure used her mind-reading power to expose that truth to Philippe. Laure immobilized both youths, crushed Philippe’s throat, smeared his blood on Celene, and offered Celene a grotesque version of the freedom Celene had wanted.

Celene tried to stab Laure with the knife her father had given her, but the blade shattered against Laure’s skin. As Laure tore out Celene’s throat and fed on her, Celene screamed for Gabriel, the brother who had once promised to save her. Gabriel, shaken and tearful, apologizes for not knowing what Laure had done or how far vampires would go for revenge. When Gabriel asks how Celene later found the Esani and became what she is, Celene says the answer lies in a childhood sin and reveals that the first vampire Celene met was Gabriel’s father.