Alerted that venin are inside the wards, Violet arms herself and leads Rhiannon and Ridoc out of the infirmary despite warnings to stay put. They discover desiccated bodies in overflow beds and realize the attackers are disguised as scribes. Violet kills a false scribe with an alloy-hilted dagger as two real first-years are sent to warn the Archives.

Hearing a struggle below, the trio descends toward the brig. In the antechamber, they find two venin trying to open Jack Barlowe’s cell, a third venin cutting the throat of a pinned second lieutenant, a fourth lurking in the shadows, and two corpses already down. Violet kills the female executioner with a throat throw. Another venin moves with unnatural speed, dodging Violet’s second dagger and hurling a mace; Ridoc uses ice to save her, and Rhiannon seizes the weapon to fight back. The venin shout that they need Violet “with the silver hair.”

As a venin taunts Violet about her limits indoors, shadows suddenly erupt and devour the light. In the darkness, screams end with two thuds. When shadows recede, the venin lie shriveled with alloy-hilted daggers embedded, and Xaden Riorson stands unharmed with Garrick Tavis behind him. Xaden has used his shadows to finish the fight, and crucially, his eyes show no red.

An hour later, after a debrief with Colonel Panchek, the group notes that the attack targeted freeing Barlowe rather than the wardstone. Garrick reports that Mira Sorrengail’s wards on the cell prevent Jack from gaining new intel and that he is draining stones and likely to die within a week. Violet and Xaden linger behind as Rhiannon and Ridoc go to check on their squad.

In private, Violet reassures Xaden while Garrick keeps a cautious distance. Xaden admits he likes solitude but is closely watched since the battle. Violet insists she trusts him and rejects pressure to change their sleeping arrangements. She prepares to meet the Senarium and demands Xaden lower his shields. He does, and she learns he wielded his signet inside the wards by channeling from Sgaeyl; Sgaeyl is not speaking to him, sensing he is not whole.

Violet argues that he has not fundamentally changed and challenges his love for her; he confirms he loves her unconditionally, but warns that should frighten her. When Violet presses how he arrived at the brig, Xaden reveals the key change: he sensed the venin the same way they sense him. He and Garrick have used that sensation to kill more than a dozen venin this week. Xaden states he can also feel the source pulsing beneath his feet and concludes, “because I’m one of them,” underscoring his fear that he has become like the venin.