Phosyne is safe in her room for the time being, since the Lady and the saints are unable to enter it without her consent. She descends to a cistern filled with rainwater. Using her ability to pass her hands through stone, she carves an opening and draws water, purifying and heating it. She uses the purified water to clean her chamber. Prioress Jacynde begins to stir. Phosyne wonders whether Jacynde was placed at her door as a gift or a trap to grant the Lady entry. Deciding she must keep her room inviolable, she drags Jacynde into the darkened hallway and abandons her outside of the room.

Treila crawls back through the tunnel and reenters the castle. She runs into the Loving Saint, who reacts with anger to the sight of her mutilations (the results of the payment to the creature who guards the crevice). They glimpse Prioress Jacynde staggering into the throne room just before the Constant Lady enters. The Loving Saint pulls Treila back from the doorway. From the staircase she hears only the Lady’s voice, then sounds implying Jacynde has been killed. These sounds send Treila back to the memory of her father’s execution. The Loving Saint tries to probe the source of her distress; she deflects him and they begin kissing and fondling one another. She uses the moment to maneuver him into a vulnerable position, drawing her knife and pressing it to his throat. He seems frightened but uses magic to temporarily distract her. As soon as the knife is no longer in contact with his flesh, he regains his power and becomes dangerous. Treila flees.

With Ornuo and Pneio’s assistance, Phosyne finishes cleaning her room and decides to bathe. She purifies the water in the cistern and lowers herself in: When she climbs out, her rough robes have become silk, and her body feels whole and healthy in a way it has not for years.

Fleeing the council room and abandoning Leodegardis, Voyne runs through the castle’s corridors with insubstantial, shadow-like creatures at her heels. They scratch and bite her but cause only superficial wounds, toying with her as sport. She makes her way to Phosyne’s chamber and considers entering but realizes she must be brave and try to help those imprisoned in the castle. She hopes to retrieve her sword from the throne room and she begins making her way there. 

The shadow creatures renew their pursuit as she descends. In the throne room doorway stands the Constant Lady, whose presence drives the lesser creatures away. Voyne lunges, but the Lady instantly knocks her to the floor and lifts Voyne into her lap. The Absolving Saint brings a platter of food whose appearance flickers between ordinary fruit and something made of human flesh. Voyne refuses to eat. The Lady then bares her breast, draws her nail across the skin, and honey oozes from the wound; she holds it to Voyne’s mouth and suggests that Voyne can serve both her and Phosyne. Voyne resists. 

The Lady places Voyne on her knees before the throne, tells her to wait and see whether Phosyne even remembers she exists, and disappears.

Treila runs from the Loving Saint toward the only person who might help: Phosyne. The upper staircase is blocked by a mass of shadowy figures, so she cuts through the yard and into the kitchen, then through the larder. There she finds human carcasses hanging on hooks. She runs up the servants’ stairs to Phosyne’s hallway and enters Phosyne’s room, startled by the transformation of both Phosyne and the chamber. They are gleaming and beautiful. 

Treila explains to Phosyne that she successfully exited the castle but chose to return. She reports that the siege from Etrebia is over outside the walls. Treila tells Phosyne that, so long as they are willing to sacrifice some part of their body to the creature who guards the crevice, they should be able to get out again together and make their way to safety. For her part, Phosyne tells Treila what she has uncovered about the Lady and the saints: When the king ate their food, he magically granted them power over the castle, which is why they now hold everyone under the sway of enchantment. 

When Phosyne asks after Voyne, Treila says she has not seen her and urges Phosyne to escape through the tunnel, warning that more shadow creatures have arrived and the situation is growing more and more dangerous. Phosyne refuses. She says she intends to reclaim what belongs to her and murmurs, almost to herself, that Voyne needs her. Phosyne asks if Treila will stay; Treila shakes her head and slips past her out the door. Phosyne does not call after her.

After Treila leaves, Phosyne uses magic to telepathically survey the castle and locate Voyne in the throne room. She descends to join the knight there. When Phosyne sees Voyne kneeling next to the throne, she deduces that Voyne may be incapable of functioning without someone to obey. On an impulse, she sits on the throne. Voyne’s head snaps up immediately, her expression shifting to something that reads as longing. Phosyne tells her to come closer, and Voyne shuffles forward on her knees. Testing her power and reveling in her dominance, Phosyne commands Voyne to touch her. They kiss but Phosyne senses a sinister presence in the room. She looks up and the room is full of watching eyes and grinning mouths in the shadows, all around them.

Voyne and Phosyne stay pressed together, since they fear moving might induce the shadowy creatures to attack them. Voyne asks for her sword, which she believes is behind the throne. When Phosyne looks, she finds not a sword but a body: Prioress Jacynde, run through with Voyne’s blade and entirely encased in honeycomb. Voyne wants to seize her sword but she cannot act independently—she needs a command. When Phosyne orders her to take up the sword, Voyne tries in vain to dig her sword out of the swarm of bees, honeycomb and wax. Eventually, Phosyne orders her to retreat. Voyne obeys the order and flees from the room.

Voyne runs through the castle, stumbling past grotesque scenes of cannibalism and mutilation. She takes refuge in the smithy (a blacksmith’s workshop). She finds Theophrane, the head blacksmith, inside and realizes that he is lucid and not enchanted. He is afraid of Voyne and urges her to leave. Theophrane explains that iron repels the saints and the mysterious creatures: The iron filings embedded permanently in his skin during years of smithing caused one of the creatures to injure itself when it tried to bite him. He has built a protective ring of iron tools around himself since. Voyne registers this information, realizing that her iron sword is an important weapon. Reluctantly, Theophrane gives her an iron hammer.

Voyne steps back outside and meets the Warding Saint. He tries to tempt her into eating (which would pull her deeper into enchanted obedience). Voyne attacks him with the iron hammer, killing him and then donning his armor. The castle inhabitants, observing what has happened, rush into the smithy and tear Theophrane apart while Voyne watches, paralyzed by horror.

Treila weaves through the crowds, trying to avoid the Loving Saint and any other creatures (who will now be hunting for her). She ducks into the walled garden, which has grown into an impenetrable tangle of magically enlarged plants, and hides inside a massive yarrow plant to collect herself. She considers different options for killing the Loving Saint or escaping from the castle. Eventually, she hears someone else in the garden. Emerging from her hiding place, Treila sees Ser Voyne. She knows that the Loving Saint can shapeshift, and she suspects he has taken on the form of Voyne in order to trick her.

When Treila approaches, Voyne drops the hammer, and promises not hurt her. Treila is still convinced that she is being tricked. Treila attacks and grapples with Voyne, no longer sure if she is fighting with Voyne or the Loving Saint. Taunting her opponent, Treila kisses Voyne passionately.

Voyne is now fully aware of Treila (the presence of the iron hammer has weakened the enchantment). Voyne has long believed Treila to be dead, and she apologizes for betraying her. The two alternate between fighting and kissing until Treila stabs Voyne in the throat with her dagger. Voyne dies.