Meanwhile, Treila mingles at the feast, avoiding eating while everyone around her gorges themselves. One of the strangers, the one who resembles The Loving Saint, notices her and observes that she is not eating. She tries to stab him, but he evades her and reflects on what he noticed when he saw her interaction with Voyne. He was able to tell that Treila was torn between a desire for revenge and a persistent longing for Voyne. He leads her to the castle walls and reveals his appearance reflects whoever the viewer loves or wants to be loved by. He demonstrates by briefly taking on Voyne’s likeness. He warns Treila to escape from the castle if she can.

After consuming water from the cistern and regaining her mental clarity, Voyne is overwhelmed by fragmented memories of her time under the Lady’s magical control: mutilating Jacynde, dragging people to the feast, attacking Phosyne. Phosyne recognizes that Voyne has returned to her senses. They discuss how to get out of the deep cistern in which they are now both trapped. Recreating the experience of Voyne pressing Phosyne into the wall and strangling her (which previously happened into the chapel) once again triggers Phosyne to partially pass into the stone. They work together, allowing Phosyne to partially scale the stone walls of the cistern and then Voyne climbs her body as a ladder. They are both able to climb out of the cistern and then Voyne feigns guarding Phosyne so that they can move unobtrusively through the crowds.

In Phosyne’s tower, she explains to Voyne what she has observed and pieced together. Voyne became enthralled by the Lady the previous night after consuming food at the first feast and then mutilated the Prioress while in a dazed state, after the Prioress challenged the Lady’s power and tried “to make us see sense. To make us understand that the food could not be explained” (164). Phosyne tells Voyne that someone (Treila) will soon be joining them and they can make an escape attempt together; Voyne, however, rejects the idea of leaving the castle and insists, “We stay here. We fix this. We save them” (165). 

They are interrupted by Treila’s arrival; Phosyne (who is unaware of Voyne and Treila’s shared history) notices that while Phosyne is visible to Voyne, the latter doesn’t seem to register her presence or hear her voice. Treila and Phosyne realize that the Lady has placed a kind of spell on Voyne, reacting jealously to the incident in which Voyne mistook Treila for the Lady. Phosyne tries to explain to Voyne that a third individual is present, even though magic makes Voyne unable to perceive or hear her. However, the magic also makes Voyne unable to comprehend Phosyne’s explanation, leaving the latter to conclude, “Then I can’t explain it. You will have to trust me” (168). Voyne agrees to enter the tunnel on the assumption that they will be able to return and re-enter the castle; she still refuses to abandon the castle even though Treila is insistent that she is not going back.

Voyne struggles to keep her mind clear and not fall back under the sway of confusion and obedience to the saints. As she, Treila, and Phosyne make their way through the castle, she glimpses King Cardimir (under the sway of the enchantment) consuming human blood. She feels a pang of loyalty and wishes she could help him, but Phosyne urges her onward. 

The three women enter the tunnel, but Voyne quickly encounters what feels like solid stone and is unable to pass any further. She retreats back into the castle and the other two follow her. Treila refuses to delay the escape attempt and crawls back into the tunnel alone. Phosyne hesitates, knowing that if she enters the tunnel Voyne will be unable to escape or prevent her. However, she decides to stay with Voyne.

the crevice greets her and they discuss Treila’s impending act (feeding the mysterious voice her finger in exchange for passage through the crevice). She inserts her finger and the creature painfully bites off the first knuckle and tells her it is not enough. Two more bites sever the finger cleanly. The stone dissolves and Treila crawls through what feels like a living passage of flesh and coiling limbs. She emerges outside the castle, into open sunlight and a breeze.

Inside the castle, Phosyne and Voyne plan to distribute purified cistern water as both emergency aid and a possible counter-enchantment. They find Prioress Jacynde, unconscious and feverish, collapsed outside the tower door. Voyne leaves for water while Phosyne drags Jacynde inside. Tending to her, Phosyne reflects on her past and the erosion of her faith. 

The Lady arrives with all three saints. Phosyne does not give them permission to enter her room, and they seem unable to do so without her consent. However, she finds their promises of teaching her about how her own magic works to be seductive and fears that they will coerce and manipulate her. Rather than allowing them to enter her room, she steps out and meets them in the hallway. She agrees to allow them to teach her how they magically entered the castle, hoping this agreement will not give them too much power over her.

Meanwhile, Voyne gathers water from the cisterns. Rather than immediately returning to Phosyne and Jacynde, she begins distributing to the injured people who are collapsed and unconscious around her. She becomes exhausted and overwhelmed, realizing they are too numerous for her to help. She briefly retreats to the walled garden, composes herself, and then begins trying to help the injured again.

Outside of the castle, Treila walks to a small military encampment. Passing as a farmer’s daughter, the soldiers feed her and report two months of fruitless watch: No one has left or entered the castle, and any attempt to approach the walls fails inexplicably. Treila spends the night at the camp, debating whether to return to the castle or escape. She decides to return and walks back to the crevice (through which she can enter the grotto and then crawl through the tunnel). The creature who guards the crevice demands her ear as the cost of re-entry.

Phosyne descends into a hallucinatory state, assuming the perspective of the Lady. When she returns to consciousness, she has learned some aspects of how the magic of the Lady and the saints works: “[T]hese creatures, they obey certain things: territory, ownership, hierarchy. They twist those things to suit their purposes, but they can’t ignore them” (202). She has also realized that if she lets them into her room, they will exert complete power over her. As Phosyne begins struggling with the saints, her two magical creatures reappear and attack the saints. Phosyne is able to retreat into the sanctuary of her room. The Lady bows and the saints withdraw. But as they turn to leave, Phosyne sees additional eyes watching from the shadows behind them. New figures have entered the castle.