The morning after Oro rescues Isla, Isla tells Celeste everything: Cleo may have spun the curses, Cleo wants Celeste dead, and Oro claims his betrayal was staged. Celeste is less alarmed than Isla expects and focuses on the opportunity Oro presents, urging Isla to ask him about the hidden library in the Mainland castle so they can keep searching for the bondbreaker.

Although Isla and Oro need to search Moon Isle’s last two possible locations for Lightlark’s heart before Wild Isle collapses further, the rules of the Centennial force them to attend Carmel, a twenty-four-hour carnival marking the final quarter of the competition. Isla delays attending as long as possible, worried about Cleo’s motives and about Terra being consumed by the forest, then dresses as an elaborate Wildling rose and enters the celebration under guard.

At Carmel, islanders from the daytime realms cautiously resume festivity despite the recent violence. Isla notices Oro’s guards following her and, emboldened by their protection, drinks a goblet of haze. The drink quickly overwhelms Isla, making her dizzy, euphoric, and careless; she leaves the gardens, sheds pieces of her flower costume through the castle halls, and becomes lost.

Oro finds Isla by following her trail of petals and realizes she drank haze. He escorts Isla toward her room while she asks unusually direct questions. Oro reveals he was never meant to be king, that his brother was raised to rule, and that Oro once led Lightlark’s armies; he also says his hatred of Grim is tied to losses in war and to disapproving of Grim’s methods. Isla invites Oro into her room for tea, where he admits guilt keeps him from sleeping and explains he found Isla on Moon Isle by following the bird.

Isla falls asleep with her head in Oro’s lap, and Oro falls asleep too. When Isla wakes later, still foggy but more aware, she thanks him, and he leaves to return to Carmel after reminding her that only two Moon Isle locations remain to be searched. Their brief softness closes off abruptly when Oro becomes distant again.

After Oro leaves, Isla stands on the balcony listening to Carmel below until the celebration suddenly goes silent. Ella arrives in a panic and tells Isla that a ruler has been attacked; when Isla asks which one, Ella says the victim is Starling.