After Jude’s confrontation with Cardan at the Summer Tournament, the remaining bouts pass in a blur. Vivi praises Jude for showing mortal ferocity, but Taryn quietly wishes Jude had been less clever and continues avoiding Jude’s questions. Princess Rhyia prepares for and wins her bout, Cardan returns to the royal box in new clothes and speaks tensely with Balekin, and Madoc never comes back to the arena.

Jude rides home alone because Vivi and Taryn go hunting with Rhyia. At Madoc’s house, Jude eats in the kitchen and then encounters Gnarbone, who tells Jude that “the prince” is asking for her in Madoc’s study. Believing Cardan has come and fearing Madoc would disapprove of open conflict with a royal, Jude storms into the study intending to dismiss him.

Instead, Jude finds Prince Dain waiting. Embarrassed and afraid, Jude tries to recover, but Dain notices Jude’s panic and becomes fascinated by the fact that humans can lie. When Dain asks Jude to demonstrate, Jude rattles off personal facts and challenges Dain to know whether any are false, impressing him with the uncertainty that lying creates.

Dain asks what Jude wants, and Jude admits that Jude wants to be Dain’s knight. Dain redirects the conversation, pressing Jude to name a deeper desire. Remembering Cardan’s threats and the recent ways the Folk have controlled or humiliated Jude, Jude asks for the ability to resist enchantment, explaining that ordinary protections like salt, rowan, and reversed stockings can be stripped away.

Dain reveals that he does not want Jude as a traditional knight but as a spy in his Court of Shadows. Dain promises future power, influence, and a protective geas if Jude serves him. Though Jude feels insulted by being valued as a liar and sneak rather than a warrior, Jude recognizes the chance for power and accepts.

Dain places the geas on Jude: no Faerie glamour or enchantment can control Jude’s mind or body, except Dain’s own. Jude realizes the bargain’s hidden cost but still values the protection and the recognition Dain offers. Jude kneels in Madoc’s study and swears service to Prince Dain.