Ilsa wakes alone in an opulent bedroom and fully realizes that Valentine told the truth: she is in a parallel world. While she takes in the luxury around her, Apollo arrives with a group of women and immediately shifts from the protective man of the night before to a distant, commanding one. He orders that Ilsa be bathed, dressed, and fitted for a wardrobe for a long journey, explains that danger is rising around Baldur and the witches, and reveals that he has two children, Christophe and Élan, whom he does not want to see her while she is bruised.

After Apollo leaves without answering her questions, the women attend Ilsa, bathe and dress her, and feed her, but the language barrier leaves her isolated because they seem to speak Fleuridian rather than English. Alone, Ilsa steps onto the balcony and is overwhelmed by the beauty of this world, which finally convinces her that she is truly somewhere other than home. That wonder is quickly undercut by Apollo's mention of his children, which stirs her grief over the son and daughter she lost after Pol's violence and reminds her how deeply her past still controls her reactions.

As the day passes, Ilsa tours the huge house, tries unsuccessfully to find anyone who can speak with her, and grows more anxious without Valentine or Apollo. She worries about meeting Apollo's children, questions how much the household knows about her identity, and begins to feel unsafe despite the comfort surrounding her. By evening, the uncertainty becomes panic, because she is trapped in a strange world, dressed in another life, unable to communicate, and dependent on a man she barely understands.

Apollo finally returns and informs Ilsa that he has left the children elsewhere and will send them ahead by ship while she follows later under guard with his men. When he briefly allows questions, he still refuses to explain much, insisting his men can answer practical matters and postponing any discussion of her future until she reaches Lunwyn. Ilsa presses him because she feels abandoned and unprepared, and Apollo finally admits that being near her is agonizing because she looks, sounds, and even smells like his dead wife without actually being her. When Ilsa grabs his arm to stop him, she instinctively recoils as if expecting a blow, revealing the depth of Pol's abuse; Apollo sees it, warns her, Be careful what you wish for. You might get it. And not want it, and leaves, ending the chapter in fear, pain, and mistrust.