Violet blocks Talia Riorson at the bedroom door as Talia brings food and asks to speak with Xaden. Talia hints she can leverage a meeting with the full triumvirate, but Violet prioritizes Xaden’s wellbeing over politics and sets cautious boundaries, promising only to ask him about dinner. Violet notes the physical resemblance between mother and son and worries about Xaden’s fading gold-flecked eyes.

On the veranda, Violet finds Xaden withdrawn. He returns two vials that fell from her pack and explicitly authorizes Violet to use the serum to sever his connection to Sgaeyl if he loses himself, though he wants to retain his bond to keep fighting venin. They watch Sgaeyl pace the beach, agitated by the island’s lack of magic, while Tairn and Andarna sun themselves. Xaden vents about Talia’s selective remembrances and reveals childhood stories suggesting Talia’s Hedotic origins; Violet explains Hedotis’s viladrite mineral can turn paler eyes purple.

Talia invites them to dinner, but Xaden initially refuses and seeks physical distraction. Violet stops him, insisting sex will not solve the underlying problem. When she admits her recent loss of her own mother, she refuses to dictate his choice, warning that her advice is colored by grief. Xaden contrasts Violet’s mother’s sacrifice with his own experience of abandonment, recounting how Talia left after his tenth birthday and framing himself as the product of a contract. He describes the lure of his numbed emotions as like skating over a frozen lake above feelings he traded away, acknowledging the temptation to surrender more to avoid pain.

When Sgaeyl roars at the house, two young boys rush outside, and Talia races after them, calling them “boys” and “Mama.” Violet translates for Xaden that the triumvirate will join them for dinner and that the boys will spend the night with Faris’s parents. Xaden deduces the children are Talia’s, likely around eleven and younger, and his detachment deepens as he confronts the reality that Talia built a new family. Violet offers to leave Hedotis immediately, arguing the isle’s historic neutrality means they will not help, but Xaden insists they must at least search and meet the triumvirate.

Fearing Xaden might barter away more of his feelings, Violet begs him to let her hold his pain. He kisses her knuckles, agrees to dinner, and goes to wash up. Realizing the triumvirate intends to test them and noting the children were sent away, Violet decides they need an advantage and enlists Andarna to discreetly trail the boys when they depart.

Two hours later, Violet and Mira descend with a precious glass vial. They inform Talia that six of their group can attend dinner, and Violet presents a gift: dried arinmint, a Hedotic tea from Xaden’s childhood meant to ease tensions and remind him of home. Talia accepts, hopeful, as preparations for the dinner with the triumvirate proceed.