The next morning, Blake stages a scene in the Drakharrow common room, filling it with highblood students feeding from thralls to intimidate Medra. When she appears, he loudly mocks her as a “dragon tamer” whose dragon quickly abandoned her. He demands she show him respect by kissing his house ring, but Medra refuses, calling his leadership tactics humiliating.

After ordering everyone else out of the room, Blake forbids Medra from associating with Kage or any member of House Avari. Medra rejects Blake’s authority and questions the validity of their bond, suggesting it might be another manipulation by his uncle, Viktor. She argues they would both be better off free from it. Enraged by her mention of Kage and her desire to break their bond, Blake coldly tells Medra he would never want to end it. Theo arrives and interrupts the confrontation, inviting Medra to breakfast. As Medra leaves with Theo, Blake is left alone, furious at Medra’s continued defiance and his cousin’s disloyalty.

Medra skips breakfast and heads to her first class, The Alchemist’s Garden, which is held in a greenhouse and being taught by Professor Vasanti Allenvale, a highblood from House Orphos. The professor groups Medra and Florence with Lunaya Orphos, the sister of Lysander Orphos. While studying various magical plants, the three discuss the different magical specializations of the four highblood houses: House Drakharrow specializes in blood magic, Avari’s magic is drawn from the moon, dream-magic is the remit of Orphos, while Mortis engages in the forbidden magic of necromancy. 

Later, Medra goes to her history class, surprised to find that this is a private lesson with Professor Amina Hassan, an instructor who dislikes her. Professor Hassan reveals that Lord Drakharrow arranged the class so Medra can learn to respect the traditions of the highbloods. Hassan threatens Medra, stating she must prove she can control Nyxaris by a scheduled evaluation by the Tribunal panel next month. If Medra fails to demonstrate obedience, her freedom will be revoked and her friends, specifically Florence, will face severe consequences. Medra’s defiance angers Hassan further, who declares she will report Medra’s insubordination to the tribunal.

On her way to the refectory, Medra is cornered by a group of hostile blightborn students. Their leader accuses her of being a traitor for awakening Nyxaris, whom he calls a weapon for their highblood oppressors. Before the confrontation can escalate, Kage Tanaka arrives and intervenes, his authoritative presence quickly dispersing the resentful students.

Kage states his intention to report the students to the other House Leaders, but Medra asks him not to. Kage shares with Medra his grandmother’s theory about the sudden defiance of mortals: Nyxaris’s awakening has caused the highbloods’ “compliance magic”—a spell used to keep blightborn subservient—to weaken. Kage warns that the balance of power in Sangratha is changing and that Medra is more dangerous than she realizes. He offers his support but states that trust must be earned, noting that both of them have secrets. He departs, leaving Medra to ponder his warning and his enigmatic interest in her.

Told from Blake’s perspective, this chapter reveals the toll his feeding arrangement with Medra is taking on him. The unwilling feedings leave him perennially hungry. His bond to Medra has also made him intensely reactive to her moods. Angry and frustrated, Blake reflects on the terms Medra has imposed on him—feeding once a week, in her room, on her schedule—which he finds deeply humiliating. He also privately acknowledges that her blood is unlike anything he has ever tasted, leaving him addicted and desperate for more than she allows.

Regan arrives in the common room and suggests to Blake that she become his consort again, arguing he needs her political alliance, but he dismisses her. To spite Medra as she enters the room, Blake pulls a willing girl onto his lap and kisses her conspicuously. Though he succeeds in drawing Medra’s attention and provoking a visible reaction of disgust, she turns and leaves without a word. The hollow victory immediately sours Blake’s mood. He leaves the girl and storms to his room.

Upset after seeing Blake with another girl, Medra confides in Visha, who teases her for being jealous. Later, at breakfast, Blake publicly confronts Medra for having Florence, an Avari student, at the House Drakharrow table. Blake demands that Visha and Theo choose between their loyalty to him as House Leader and their friendship with Medra. Visha and Theo side with Medra. As Blake escalates the confrontation, Kage invites Medra and her friends to sit at his table. Blake storms out of the refectory. At the Avari table, a grateful Medra asks Kage to arrange her transfer into his house. Kage explains that her bond with Blake makes this nearly impossible but agrees to request his grandmother for a transfer. Though Medra is grateful for Kage’s help, she also feels conflicted about seeking aid from Blake’s rival.

Blake supervises Medra’s Defensive Arts class in the absence of Professor Sankara, intending to publicly humiliate her into submission. He mocks her and forces her to spar with another student, Laurent, whom he has instructed not to hold back. Blake taunts Medra during the match, but she proves to be a capable fighter, until Blake’s sledging causes her to lose her focus. 

Seizing the opportunity, Laurent kicks Medra in the side and knocks the wind out of her. Sensing Medra in trouble, Nyxaris dramatically appears in the courtyard. The dragon fixes Blake with a look of pure contempt, causing Blake to feel a strange heat and discover a patch of scales forming on his own forearm. Nyxaris then roars, sending students screaming, and Blake abruptly dismisses the class. Hiding afterward, he is consumed with self-doubt about his tyrannical methods and horrified by the unexplained scales.