On the sparring mat, Xaden Riorson smothers the arena in shadows, forcing Violet Sorrengail to fight in complete darkness. Violet initially sustains a controlled trickle of lightning through her conduit to create a small halo of light, but the strain is significant compared to a single strike. Xaden urges Violet to use their bond to find him, explaining he can wield from any shadow but that the strongest threads are his own; if Violet can discern his shadow from others, she can track him in darkness.

Violet cuts off her continuous channel to focus on their connection and follows a subtle pull through the dark. Xaden closes, briefly embracing and kissing Violet, then demands she strike to avoid the appearance that he is easing up on her. Violet answers with a dramatic upward lightning strike that lights the amphitheater and the sky beyond the wards, astounding the watching cadets, before darkness returns.

When Violet asks why only she must learn to find him in the dark, Xaden ends class and walks away, stating that she is the only one capable of killing him. The admission underscores both the danger of their powers and the trust and stakes between them, while leaving Violet unsettled under the scrutiny of their peers.

The next afternoon at the Six Talons pub in Chantara, Ridoc jokes that Violet scared off “the professor” with lightning, and Sawyer, appearing slightly more at ease with his new prosthesis, genuinely laughs. The group—Violet, Rhiannon, Ridoc, Sawyer, and later Cat, Maren, and Trager—discuss Xaden’s terrifying capacity with shadows and Violet’s lack of fear of him. Conversation turns to temple visits and regional worship of the gods, with mentions of Amari, Malek, Dunne, Hedeon, and Zihnal.

Rhiannon worries about first-years Sloane (a siphon), Avalynn (fire), and Baylor (farsight) manifesting signets while Lynx and Aaric have yet to manifest; Ridoc notes there is time before unmanifested magic becomes dangerous. The group briefly brushes the grim topic of inntinnsics, which Rhiannon rebukes.

Dain Aetos arrives and asks to speak with Violet privately. He says he has reconnoitered his father’s quarters and concludes he cannot sneak others in; instead, he proposes retrieving Violet’s father’s research alone while his father is away, asking Violet to trust him. After weighing the risks of discovery, Violet agrees and provides precise instructions to a hidden compartment beneath her father’s desk, with the latch at the back of her mother’s center drawer, and Dain promises delivery by Monday morning.

The chapter closes with a recovered letter from Lieutenant Colonel Asher Sorrengail to Violet, in which he laments unfinished lessons and warns her that he and her mother trusted no one—and that she should trust no one—foreshadowing the danger of Violet’s choice to rely on Dain.