Violet acts as gatekeeper between Xaden and his mother Talia, who desperately wants to reconnect with the son she left at age ten. Talia brings a tray of snacks and tries to peer into Xaden's room, offering to help arrange a meeting with the full triumvirate in exchange for time with her son. Violet firmly prioritizes Xaden's well-being, telling Talia she would burn the house down before forcing him into anything, and agrees only to ask about dinner. Talia, moved by Violet's devotion, backs off and mentions she'll send someone later to check if Xaden is willing to join.

On the veranda, Violet finds Xaden sitting on the floor in a near-catatonic state. He discovers the two vials Bodhi gave Violet—a serum capable of blocking his bond with Sgaeyl—and tells her to use it on him if he ever loses himself. He reveals deep resentment toward Talia, recounting how she fed him chocolate cake on his tenth birthday and vanished that same night, calling himself nothing more than the fulfillment of a contract. He compares his emotional state to skating over a frozen lake, confessing that the venin power's appeal isn't just strength but freedom from painful feelings—and that he would gladly barter away the emotions Talia stirs in him.

Sgaeyl, visibly agitated, paces the beach and eventually roars with enough force to rattle the glass doors before launching skyward. Her near-trampling of two young boys draws Talia running from the house, and Violet realizes with dread that the boys—Simeon and Gaius—are Talia's children, meaning Xaden's mother built an entirely new family after abandoning him. Xaden's expression goes flat as he absorbs this, and Violet begs him not to barter away his pain to venin power, promising to carry it herself.

Despite everything, Xaden decides to attend dinner, and Violet learns the full triumvirate will be present—with the children sent away for the night, suggesting the dinner may serve as an evaluation. Violet devises a plan: she asks Andarna to invisibly follow the departing boys and enlists Mira's help. From the med kit Brennan sent, Violet retrieves dried arinmint leaves—a tea Xaden associates with his mother's bedtime stories—and presents them to Talia as a peace offering, hoping to smooth tensions and give their group an edge at the crucial dinner.