Shadera sits in a cell, trying to breathe through the pain of her injuries. She refuses to sleep, not trusting the other inmates. Tattoos mark the crimes of the accused, with violent repercussions for even minor transgressions. The inmates are delighted when they learn that Shadera tried to kill Greyson, even if she cannot confirm that he is dead. Shadera insists she didn’t attack him for the rebellion, but due to her Daggermouth contract, though she knows this is untrue.

Guards drag Shadera from the cell, causing the other prisoners to erupt in protest. The guards begin shooting inmates when they start singing a protest song, but the prisoners keep singing. Shadera is moved by their courage and defiance. She seizes a gun and tries to fight the soldiers, but they outnumber her. She keeps fighting, begging them to kill her, not the other prisoners. The guards ignore her, dragging her through Serel tower to meet Maximus.

Greyson wakes alone in the hospital, then drifts in and out of consciousness. He thinks of Shadera and her “brutality and hunger for violence” (107). Hers is one execution he will actually consider just, given the Daggermouths’ role in his brother’s death. A nurse offers to exaggerate Greyson’s injuries so he can have more time before returning to his Executioner duties, but he doesn’t want her to risk retribution from his father. She indicates that she is also part of the movement to get medicine to the outer rings.

Mikel arrives, insisting Greyson report to Maximus immediately. When the nurse argues that Greyson is still injured, Mikel viciously shoves her. When Greyson’s stitches rip, he staples the wound closed himself. He finds the physical pain preferable to his father’s “mental warfare.” Greyson resolves to never again show weakness.

Shadera is barely able to remain on her feet due to her injuries. Maximus makes her wait, bleeding, then removes his mask, all as a show of power. She refuses to be cowed, though her temper surges when Maximus references her parents. Greyson enters; Maximus informs them of their upcoming marriage. They both refuse, but he overrules them. If Shadera tries to escape the marriage, including by her own death, Maximus will kill every Daggermouth. Shadera is surprised by the news that Brooker was killed by a Daggermouth; she is jealous she didn’t get to kill him herself.

Maximus shows Shadera a video of Jameson, who will be killed if she doesn’t agree to the plan. He threatens to kill Lira and Callum if Greyson doesn’t agree. The two are taken to Greyson’s apartment, where they will remain trapped together until the wedding in six days.

Several days after Shadera’s disappearance, Jameson begins to worry. He distracts himself by working tirelessly at the understaffed and undersupplied Boundary clinic, where he cares for children who grow sick and die from treatable ailments. He realizes that he is being tracked by drones, not merely observed as a part of a random patrol. He hides in ruins to evade them, then uses his skill as a marksman to shoot them down. When he sees the Serel insignia on the drones, he knows this must be related to Shadera.

Despite his hatred for the Daggermouths, Jameson goes to the Wolf’s Head to seek Jaeger. Jaeger reports Shadera’s failure, capture, and the revolt in the jail. He believes the Veyra intend something beyond death for Shadera. Jameson reports on the drones. Jaeger plans to use Shadera as a symbol of resistance, though Jameson worries that this will put Shadera at greater risk. Jaeger plans to kill Shadera if she betrays them to the Veyra. Jameson grows furious with Jaeger for giving Shadera the contract, which both men knew was personal to her. He feels that Jaeger is abandoning Shadera and plans to launch his own rescue mission, even though it will likely end in death. Jaeger warns him that Shadera might be “broken” by the Heart’s physical and mental tortures. They agree to give Jaeger three days to seek more information; if Jameson tries to rescue Shadera before then, Jaeger will have him killed.

Greyson considers how little control he has over his life as he and Shadera return to his apartment. Though Shadera is badly beaten, he thinks she should have been killed in revenge for her assassination attempt. He fears that the soldiers doing a “security sweep” of his apartment will find his contraband medical equipment. The soldiers leave, reminding Shadera that she is confined to the apartment. Though Greyson is permitted to leave, he knows he will be surveilled when he does. Greyson finds listening devices that his father planted there but doesn’t remove them, as this would only arouse his father’s suspicion.

Shadera drinks Greyson’s liquor, taunting him about his obedience to his father’s rules. She vows that she will not spend her life married to him; she still plans to kill him. Shadera criticizes Greyson for thinking he is superior because he kills in the name of law; he counters that at least he doesn’t kill for money. They brawl, and Shadera taunts Greyson that he finds physical violence sexual. Greyson fears he and Shadera will “destroy each other,” which he assumes his father wants (154).

Shadera is disgusted by the splendor in Greyson’s apartment, which she compares to the squalor that Boundary families face. She washes away the blood from her many injuries, hiding her tears in the shower when she thinks of the dead prisoners. She blames herself for their deaths. She wishes for Jameson’s presence to comfort her. She heads to bed, lamenting the control Maximus holds over her.

When Shadera wakes the next morning, she sees people assembled in front of the execution platform, far below her apartment in Serel Tower. She watches from above, furious and horrified, as Greyson executes a teen boy. She batters her locked bedroom door until it splinters, exacerbating her wounds. She breaks into Greyson’s bedroom, seeking weaknesses she can exploit, but finds nothing personal in the room. In his closet, she finds a photograph of Greyson and Brooker, both unmasked. She steals the photo. Greyson catches her snooping, but Shadera is unrepentant. She shouts at him for killing a teenager who stole medical supplies, probably to save the life of a loved one. Greyson claims he remembers every life he has taken; Shadera counters that this makes him more monstrous. Greyson agrees, which disarms her. They debate the morality of their various reasons for killing.

Shadera reveals that she knows his father injured him, almost killed him, based on his medical records. She taunts him, and he almost kills her. He urges her to leave before he can do so.

Callum tortures a man named Davish, who injured one of the sex workers under Callum’s protection. Davish offers secrets to bargain for his life: Serel Industries has been smuggling medical supplies meant for the outer rings back to private Heart clinics. Maximus has been systematically denying supplies to the outer rings as part of an unknown plan. Callum orders his soldiers to cut off one of Davish’s fingers, promising death if he transgresses again.

Callum meets with Lira, who “read[s] him better than anyone” despite Callum’s efforts to hide the violence of his world from her eyes (180). Lira frets about Greyson, who has been “spiraling” since their brother’s death. Callum remembers an incident, years prior, in which Lira removed her mask and they kissed. Callum, fearing that his friendship with Greyson would be damaged, pushed her away, which he regrets.

Greyson appears suddenly, startling Callum and Lira. He explains what his father has decreed and states that he loathes Shadera’s presence in his home. Lira admits that this was her idea to save Greyson’s life. This angers Greyson; Callum defends Lira. Callum notes that Shadera may have information about Brooker’s death. If Greyson can convince her to reveal this, then publicly reveal her betrayal of the Daggermouths, Maximus will execute her for being part of the scheme to kill his first son, freeing Greyson from his marriage. Callum cautions Greyson against letting himself grow close to Shadera, even as he convinces her to trust him.

Shadera cooks while intoxicated, causing a kitchen fire. Greyson arrives in time to put out the fire, then scolds Shadera for trying to cook herself instead of ordering food. Shadera refuses, likening the Heart’s servants to enslaved people. Greyson counters that the staff is well paid, but Shadera argues that they don’t have other choices and therefore are stuck supporting a murderer. Callum sweeps the apartment for surveillance devices, which need to be removed for his and Greyson’s plan to work. Greyson cooks; Shadera doesn’t know how to cook, as there is no fresh food in the Boundary. She finds it strange and intimate to watch him do something so domestic.

Callum reports that the apartment is “clean.” He’s impressed with Shadera’s knowledge of communication devices. She claims this knowledge is essential to “survival in the Boundary[, which] requires different skills than [their] pampered existence” (205). Greyson offers to show her around the Heart, citing it as a ploy to “sell” their arrangement so that Callum and Lira don’t get hurt. They enter a tentative agreement: they will work together to save the people Maximus has threatened if their ploy fails, but each will try to kill the other and escape given the opportunity.

Greyson asks about her experiences in the Boundary. Shadera accuses him of seeking absolution for the crimes of his family. He counters that he knows pain, even if he has never been poor. Their argument leads them to stand close together, and Shadera feels briefly attracted to him. They retire to their own rooms, where Shadera masturbates, furious when her thoughts of Jameson turn to thoughts of Greyson.

Greyson almost enters Shadera’s room, though he resists at the last moment. He feels disgusted with himself for his “sick mix of lust and loathing” (213).

Jameson enters a rebel campsite, finding that supplies are nearly depleted. There have been many deaths that day. He frets over Shadera’s absence. He meets with the leaders of the rebellion, who know him as Ghost, a smuggler and sniper. Sergeant Samuels reports that the anthem from the prison rebellion is now being sung in the streets of the Boundary. The people know a Daggermouth woman tried to kill Greyson, though they don’t know Shadera’s identity. Lieutenant Rook reports that the camp is critically low on food and that some of the rebels want to launch an attack on the Heart. Jameson plans to reach out to a smuggling contact (whom he does not know is Greyson) to see if they can send food to the Boundary. The soldiers aren’t optimistic, as food and weapons are harder to smuggle than medicine. Jameson reports on the drones following him, which he thinks are planning to “level everything” in the Boundary.

Jameson reports his plan to rescue Shadera; Rook and Samuels protest that they need him to help protect the camp. Remembering how he became a smuggler after his sister died from lack of medicine, he promises to himself that he will rescue Shadera.