Ransom demanded answers from Luella, accusing her of causing the deaths from Lyssa. Luella vowed to find a cure and undo the magic, but Ransom, devastated, fixated on the lives lost, including Sariah and Witt. He asked about Ramsey’s involvement, and Luella admitted that one of her alchemists betrayed her by going to Ramsey on the day Ramsey tried to kill her.

Ransom pressed whether Ramsey’s attack was due to Luella’s affair or her dosing Ransom with the elixir; Luella did not know, saying Ramsey had confronted her in a rage and reacted to seeing Mikhail. Odessa inferred that Ramsey might have discovered Luella had injected Ransom, yet noted Ramsey was now attempting to replicate the process with his militia. Luella confirmed Ramsey cannot reproduce the effect and that his soldiers are dying in the attempt.

Luella explained Ramsey’s team likely draws blood from infected monsters and injects it into soldiers, missing the crucial step that Ransom had first received the elixir and only then been bitten, the bite providing the magic that created Lyssa. Odessa concluded the bite is the missing piece. They recognized the grim irony: in trying to build an army against the crux, Ramsey is destroying his own forces, leaving Calandra weaker for the coming migration.

Luella pleaded for time to find a way to undo the magic, but Ransom argued that even a cure would not stop Ramsey if he discovers that the elixir plus bite grants enhanced abilities, because Ramsey would sacrifice men to gain such power. The discussion broadened to Ramsey’s book burnings; Luella said alchemists’ notes, including her own, were kept in the library, making them targets. Odessa connected this to her own father’s aims, suspecting he seeks access to Allesaria’s secrets and the Guardian to copy Ramsey’s project.

Ransom seized Luella’s research book and threatened to burn it. Luella protested it was vital to her cure research. Ransom dismissed the possibility of a cure, saying it was too late and that if the Voster could not stop it, no one could. He cursed Luella and stormed out, slamming the door, while Luella broke down and Cathlin comforted her.

As Odessa considered following Ransom, she noticed the book Ransom had thrown lay face down, displaying an intricate winged emblem on its cover. The emblem matched the pendant Odessa wore, signaling a significant link between Luella’s research and Odessa’s necklace.