Dior wakes in the dungeon beneath Dún Maergenn to Aaron screaming from the pain of his silver chains and his recent forced feeding from Nikita. Dior tells Aaron that Kiara and Kane brought Dior from Aveléne, that Baptiste is alive and working as a blacksmith, and that Gabriel’s fate is unknown. Aaron insists Gabriel will come if alive, but Dior says she will not wait and means to find a way out.

Aaron warns Dior not to share any escape plan with Aaron, because once Nikita’s bloodbinding takes hold, Aaron may be compelled to betray her. Dior reveals that Lilidh has also made Dior drink blood after exposing Dior’s healing gift. Aaron explains that the bond is not ordinary love but a possessive, hellish counterfeit that can make victims kill those they truly love; it can end if the master dies, or fade only after decades without drinking.

Before Dior can argue further, Worm arrives to escort Dior to the Contessa Dyvok. As Dior follows Worm through the keep, Celene’s blood-moth fragment hides on Dior and observes the occupied dún, its soldiers, servants, chymical lights, and the Hall of Crowns, where portraits and a statue preserve the memory of the Maergenn women who once ruled Ossway.

Worm takes Dior to a bathhouse and orders Dior to undress so Worm can make Dior presentable. Dior reluctantly leaves behind her old clothes, including Gabriel’s hidden phial, and enters the bath. Worm scrubs Dior harshly, rejects Dior’s apology for Worm’s earlier injuries, calls Dior a bloodwitch, and questions Dior about her origins and family.

Nikita enters the bathhouse naked and covered in fresh blood, terrifying Worm and Dior. Nikita climbs into Dior’s bath, dismisses Dior’s attempts to leave, and personally washes Dior’s hair while commenting on Dior’s body, Lilidh’s claim over Dior, and the dangerous allure of Dior’s blood. When Nikita’s predatory touch pushes Dior toward open defiance, Worm interrupts by reminding Nikita that Lilidh is waiting; Nikita releases Dior but warns Worm not to forget who truly rules.