Jude spends dinner exhilarated by her new secret role as Prince Dain’s spy, feeling she finally has power that Madoc cannot take from her. Madoc praises her tournament performance but still refuses to support her knighthood until after a new High King is crowned. Jude then tries to mend things with Taryn, but Taryn remains resentful and says she will not attend the next lecture.

On the way to the palace, Jude sees a white stag and chooses to read it as a good omen. At Noggle’s evening lesson on falling stars and political portents, Jude answers correctly and tries to prove her greatness despite fear of Cardan’s circle. Cardan, bored, orders Noggle to abandon the lesson, and Nicasia mocks Jude’s poor human eyesight and messy notes before slapping Jude in front of the class.

When seven stars fall, the class is distracted, and Valerian forces faerie fruit into Jude’s mouth. Nicasia steals Jude’s basket before Jude can reach salt, the antidote, while Valerian pins Jude down and nearly chokes her with the fruit. Cardan kicks Valerian off Jude but scatters Jude’s salt, leaving Jude drugged, euphoric, and suggestible.

Nicasia and the others exploit Jude’s condition, questioning and humiliating her until Nicasia orders Jude to undress and crawl for more fruit. Cardan intervenes with another degrading command, telling Jude to kiss his foot, but Locke sharply stops him and says he is taking Jude home. Before Locke leads Jude away, Cardan pricks Jude’s thumb with a pin; the salt in Jude’s human blood begins to counteract the fruit, restoring her fury and awareness.

Locke escorts Jude toward Madoc’s estate, admits there is pleasure and safety in being awful among Cardan’s friends, and asks to see Jude again because he wants to watch what she will become. At home, Madoc demands to know who harmed Jude and threatens revenge, but Jude lies that she ate the fruit herself because she fears Madoc’s violence would make everything worse. Instead, Jude asks Madoc for more strategy and bladework training, and he agrees.

Alone in Jude’s room, Jude finds a servant’s dress bearing a royal crest and the owl-faced hob waiting on her balcony. The hob gives Jude her first mission for the Court of Shadows: go to Hollow Hall, Balekin’s home, and find a secret the king will not like—treason.