In Chaos’s amphitheater, Evangeline watches in horror as bitten humans are locked into cages and lifted above the floor. Chaos explains that this is the final initiation for the Order of Spies and Assassins: the humans have been infected with vampire venom, and if they escape and drink human blood before dawn, they will become vampires and join the order. If they fail, the venom will fade at sunrise.

Chaos warns that Evangeline and Jacks are the closest things to humans present, making them likely prey if any changelings break free. Jacks quietly steadies Evangeline by holding her hand, then moves the meeting away from the balcony when Chaos notices their connection.

Inside the suite, Jacks asks whether Chaos’s people were hired to kill Apollo. Chaos says no assassin from his order took the job, but his potions master recently received a rare request for malefic oil, a poison that can be made lethal only to a specific person when combined with that person’s blood, tears, or hair. Chaos only knows the buyer was female and likely a witch, which makes Evangeline consider Marisol, the Fortuna matriarch, and the possibility that more than one person may have plotted murder.

As Jacks prepares to leave, Evangeline notices Chaos’s medallion bearing the crowned wolf symbol she saw on the locked library door tied to the Valors. Chaos says he took it from Wolfric Valor and offers to answer Evangeline’s questions about the Valors and the Valory Arch in exchange for one bite. Jacks refuses and warns Evangeline, who declines the bargain despite her curiosity.

Jacks and Evangeline hurry through Chaos’s dark underground halls as the changelings become increasingly restless. In a room full of cages, the imprisoned changelings call out temptations and promises. One familiar voice addresses Evangeline by name, and despite Jacks urging her not to stop, Evangeline looks up and recognizes Luc, her first love, inside one of the cages.