Rhordyn descends a dark staircase deep beneath Castle Noir, carrying a stag’s carcass. He notices his wrist feels too light as his thoughts turn to Orlaith. He recalls her accusation that he lied to her and wishes she could see the monster he truly is.

Rhordyn reaches a holding chamber with a large cell. A thick chain runs from the floor through a hole in the ceiling. He yanks the chain down, coiling it on the floor. He reflects on his fury, recalling how he accidentally ripped the stag’s head off when he only meant to snap its neck.

A deep growl emanates from a dark corner of the cell. Rhordyn throws the carcass inside for the unseen creature. Its black, silver-glazed eyes stare back in silence. He leaves, locks the cell, and releases the chain, which whips back through the ceiling. He hears the creature eating.

As he ascends, he thinks about his lie to Orlaith. He resolves that he would rather destroy the world than let anyone see her “luster.”

A few days later, Orlaith eats breakfast in a castle courtyard with her two Bahari guards, Kavan and Vanth. When Vanth asks why they have not sailed yet, she lies, saying she is busy, hiding her fear of crossing her Safety Line.

Orlaith leads the guards into The Tangle and loses them. She enters the secret hallway containing her mural. She realizes the small paintings form larger, lifelike portraits of people whose deaths she has witnessed in her nightmares. The final portrait is of the little boy from her dreams who resembles her true self.

Orlaith places the final stone into the wall, depicting hands bound by a thorny vine. Looking at the completed portrait, she is overwhelmed and collapses, sobbing. After some time, she senses an overwhelming presence. A deep growl comes from the darkness. She backs away slowly, grabs her belongings, and flees.

Orlaith sits near her Safety Line, shucking acorns while waiting for Shay. Shay appears but is tense and agitated. His essence touches Orlaith’s wrist, where her cupla is visible, and she realizes he knows she is leaving him. He becomes angry, hissing and pressing against the Safety Line as he forces out the word “No.” On seeing Baze approaching in the distance, Shay shrieks and flees.

Baze is tired and disheveled and accuses Orlaith of “spiraling.” After a tense exchange, he informs her that a gift has arrived from Cainon: a gown in Bahari blue.

Orlaith examines Cainon’s gift: a revealing gown made of blue and gold tendrils. Feeling the gown overtly sexualizes her and marks her as Cainon’s “possession,” she is overcome with shame, realizing she has sold herself. From her balcony, she sees a horse and cart enter the castle grounds. The driver is slumped over the reins. A lightning strike spooks the horse, which collapses, throwing the female rider to the ground.

Orlaith races down and recognizes the woman as Mishka, the pregnant woman from the Tribunal. Rhordyn appears, warns Orlaith not to look at Mishka’s wound, and covers her midsection with his jacket. Baze arrives and mercy-kills the injured horse.

Orlaith refuses to leave and takes the dying Mishka into her lap. Rhordyn whispers that Mishka’s wound is from a Vruk and that she will die a slow, agonizing death. Lightning reveals a dagger in Rhordyn’s hand. Recalling Mishka was pregnant, Orlaith refuses to look away. She comforts Mishka in her final moments. Rhordyn fatally stabs Mishka in the chest, ending her suffering.

Orlaith realizes this is the reality Rhordyn faces outside the castle walls, strengthening her resolve to leave. Rhordyn orders Kavan and Vanth to take Mishka’s body to the morgue and arrange for her cupla to be returned to her mate, Vale. He tells Orlaith that fleeing will not soothe her survivor’s guilt. She announces she is leaving and runs toward the bay.

Rhordyn catches Orlaith and carries her to The Den, despite her struggles. Inside, his potent scent overwhelms her. Rhordyn slices through Cainon’s blue gown, so it falls into scraps, then throws Orlaith a shirt. She puts it on, becoming aroused by his scent on the fabric. He suggests that Cainon plans to seize Ocruth before announcing he is going to hunt a Vruk.

Orlaith tries to stop him, but he slams her against the door, pinning her wrists and wrapping a hand around her throat. She pleads with him to set her free. He refuses, vowing he will not live without her. Rhordyn kisses Orlaith, and the encounter escalates into raw, mutual desire. He lifts her to the bed, then abruptly stops. Telling her to be good, he exits, locking her inside. Orlaith screams and batters at the door until her knuckles bleed. She collapses, emotionally shattered, believing Rhordyn exploited her vulnerability and abandoned her.

Locked in Rhordyn’s room, Orlaith fixates on Mishka’s death and forms a plan to escape via the thermal spring. She bites her wrist, bleeding into a bowl she leaves on his bed as a parting offering. Trashing his drawers, she finds his hidden caspun stash and takes it.

Orlaith ties the caspun to her ankle and descends to Rhordyn’s thermal spring. She dives for the underwater hole that links it to Puddles, but becomes stuck. As she begins drowning, fragmented childhood memories surface. In the memories, intruders search her house, her brother is killed during a raid, and her mother begs for mercy. She remembers unleashing an “oily” black power that killed everyone. Afterward, Vruks came to feed on the dead bodies.

Orlaith kicks free and surfaces. Sick and shaking, she accepts that she killed her family, servants, and mother as a toddler. She wonders if her Safety Line was a mental barrier to contain her and prevent another uncontrolled slaughter. She decides that leaving with Cainon is an act of atonement and commits to departing immediately.

Orlaith packs essentials, and hurries to the bay with the guards, Vanth and Kavan. Baze confronts her on the beach with a wooden sword. Seeing Baze as a threat, Vanth charges him, but Orlaith insists on fighting Baze herself. After defeating him, she yanks off his ring, and his glamour drops, revealing his true appearance. Beneath his glamour, Baze is a white-haired Aeshlian with pointed ears. Scars all over his body, suggesting he has been brutally tortured. Baze warns Orlaith that Rhordyn will hunt her if she leaves. She uses the ring as leverage to prevent Baze from following her, promising to leave it on the jetty.

Orlaith boards the Bahari ship, crossing her Safety Line. She retreats to the bow, looks for Kai, and whispers an apology into her conch. As the ship pulls away, Orlaith spots Rhordyn on her balcony, his scrutiny fixed on her.