Grace steers the disoriented Stephen through the streets like a belligerent drunk, stopping him from fighting a rain barrel and making him drink from it instead. She trusts that even in his confused state he will not harm her. Using a key hidden under a flowerpot that the graveyard caretaker once showed her, she leads him to a boarded-up chapel in a neglected graveyard. Stephen climbs to the choir loft and immediately falls asleep after Grace spreads his cloak on the wooden floor for him.

Grace retrieves her stash and covers him. She contemplates escaping alone—having lost everything, she feels strange relief. But looking at Stephen, she realizes she cannot abandon him. She lies beside him and falls asleep. Grace has a vivid memory of Phillip bringing a lover home. Stephen’s voice and gingerbread scent pull her from the dream. She wakes with his arm around her. No longer berserk but in pain, Stephen asks why she stayed. Grace admits she realized she still had something to lose, then kisses him.

Grace and Stephen kiss and begin a sexual encounter. Grace worries about his condition after the berserker fit, but he insists he is strong enough. She confesses she believes she is not good at sex, a belief formed during her marriage to Phillip. Stephen kisses her fiercely and says Phillip is not there. They undress.

Grace, nervous about performing pleasure correctly, grows tense. Stephen offers to stop, but she wants to continue. He proposes they treat it as a trial run, removing pressure. Grace agrees. Stephen touches her gently, focusing on what makes her comfortable. When she says she does not enjoy oral sex, he respects her boundary. Overwhelmed, Stephen asks Grace to touch herself while he is inside her. She brings herself to orgasm, triggering his own. He collapses over her, and afterward they lie together while he quickly falls asleep from exhaustion.

Hours later, István appears, explaining that sleuthounds searching for the head-biter creature Stephen killed have led guards toward the chapel. He told them it was empty, then gathered the other paladins. The remaining order, seven paladins, has mobilized to protect them. Bishop Beartongue arrives, having deduced their location. The guard captain places Stephen and Grace under arrest. István and the paladins declare the guards must go through them. A Motherhood official demands the captain shoot everyone; he refuses.

DuValier arrives, announcing the Prince is dead and demanding Grace’s arrest. A strange energy rises as the paladins act in eerie unison, on the verge of a collective berserker state. Beartongue maneuvers Grace in front of the paladin line and tries to defuse the confrontation, establishing a tacit understanding with the captain, who tells DuValier he has no authority. Another coach arrives. The Crown Prince of Charlock emerges, alive and well.

The Prince confirms he is alive and explains he knew he was being poisoned, so he faked his illness. He points out that DuValier knew symptoms he never developed. DuValier bolts but is blocked by two paladins. When he pulls a knife, a redheaded paladin disarms him. The Prince asks who he works for, suggesting his brother. DuValier tries to bite a poison crystal, but the Prince breaks the chain, shattering it. He says DuValier will be taken to Charlock for questioning.

DuValier requests sanctuary, but Beartongue states that the Temple of the Rat will provide him with a lawyer for his trial in Charlock. Grace asks how the Prince knew where to find them. He reveals Marguerite broke into his rooms to warn him. The Prince departs with DuValier. Beartongue convinces the captain to release Grace and Stephen into her custody at the Temple of the Rat, as they were wanted for a crime that did not occur.

The next morning, Shane wakes Stephen and a runner escorts him to a warehouse where Captain Mallory waits. Inside is a pottery workshop containing dozens of clay heads, identical to those used on the smooth men. A striped gnole officer explains his theory: Making small heads is more efficient than making entire large golems. Stephen realizes an army could be created by adding heads to corpses. Mallory says the creator cleared out ahead of them, as the kiln is still warm. Two men with sledgehammers wait for orders. Mallory gives the word, and they begin destroying the heads.

Beartongue dismisses Stephen’s guilt over his berserker fit, arguing it caused surprisingly minimal damage. His punishment is light. She explains that, to clear Stephen of kidnapping, she portrayed Grace as the mastermind behind their escape, which helped secure a lighter outcome for him. Subsequently, all charges against Grace are dropped except for the jailbreak, in exchange for recreating the creatures’ scent. Grace asks what the larger plot was. Beartongue explains it was a Charlock power struggle—the Prince’s brother hired DuValier to assassinate the Prince and frame someone in Archon’s Glory. When Grace and Stephen accidentally foiled the first attempt, DuValier framed Grace. Grace asks about Doctor Piper, whom she consulted about the poison, and learns someone tried to steal his notes.

Grace asks about Marguerite. Beartongue reveals the real Marguerite Florian died six years ago. Grace’s friend is likely an impostor, possibly another spy from Anuket who disappeared four years ago. Beartongue dismisses them.

Grace finds her workshop cleaned, with her journals returned. Inside the alchemy book is the deed to the building, signed over by Marguerite, along with a farewell note. Marguerite’s apartment is empty. Stephen asks if Grace would prefer him to leave. She says no, and they kiss and sleep together again. Afterwards, Grace confesses she is hopelessly in love with him. After a tense silence, Stephen admits he is scared and loves her but worries he does not deserve her. Grace reassures him. The shop bell jangles, and Grace discovers the visitor is Phillip.

Phillip appears, making excuses. Stephen leans against the wall as silent backup while Grace confronts him. She realizes he is broke; he admits he has lost his shop. She orders him out. Grace never sees him again. After Phillip leaves, Stephen’s back goes out, a delayed result of the strain from his berserker fit. Grace helps him to the bedroom and tends to him until the spasm eases. He asks to see her tomorrow; she agrees.

The next day, Stephen returns with Tab, Grace’s pet civette. They discuss their future: he cannot leave his brothers, she cannot leave her shop. Since they live in the same city, he can visit several times a week. Stephen pulls out his knitting, asking if she needs socks.

Beartongue thanks Doctor Piper for testifying on Stephen’s behalf. He leads her to a cell beneath the palace where a captured smooth man is held. The creature’s body is decaying. Piper explains he has learned nothing new beyond the fact that destroying the head kills the creature and mentions a theory that everyone might be a wonderworker with latent talents. Beartongue notes that, thanks to Miss Angelica (Grace), vials of the creature’s scent are being distributed to temples in nearby cities. The smooth man begins making a soft, continuous whistling sound. They realize it is laughing. Beartongue orders the creature burned and leaves, acknowledging the threat is not yet fully resolved.