In the aftermath of the attack by the unconscious Treow man, Odessa lay in bed with a bruised neck and a raw throat as Tillia forbade her from getting up or talking. Tillia blamed herself for bringing the sick men from Treow, but Odessa insisted it was not Tillia’s fault. Despite poultices and compresses from healer Geezala, Odessa remained sore and shaken, haunted by the man’s lifeless, milky eyes and the green blood she had seen when she killed him in self-defense.

Odessa wrestled with the attacker’s mutterings about burning, serving his king, and killing “her,” wondering if Lyssa had clouded his mind. She requested both healing tea and contraceptive tea, intending to rest but also to ensure no pregnancy after the previous night. Exhaustion pressed on her as she waited for news of Ransom, who was out hunting the bariwolf pack.

Luella entered and gave Odessa a steady, maternal embrace, guiding her breathing and reassuring her that her bruises and blood-shot eyes would heal with time. As Odessa studied Luella’s features, she realized and quietly stated that Luella was Ransom’s mother and also Evangeline’s mother. Luella, startled that Ransom had not told Odessa, confided that she had loved another man—Mikhail of Ozarth—before marrying King Ramsey, and that she now focused entirely on protecting her children, hoping to keep Evangeline in Ellder as long as possible and perhaps give her some freedom, even though Ramsey would find them eventually.

When a crash from the sitting room announced Ransom’s arrival, he stormed in livid at Odessa’s near-death. Luella commanded him to calm down, addressing him as “Zavier Ransom Wolfe,” and he obeyed, revealing the family dynamic and confirming Odessa’s deduction. Luella departed so Ransom could sit with Odessa, who curled into his arms while he moved her pet Faze to her pillow.

Odessa confessed she had killed a man and asked Ransom if he remembered his first kill. He recounted that at age sixteen he killed Horace, Zavier’s abusive stepfather, during a hunting trip after Horace tried to murder him by pushing him off a cliff; Ransom survived by driving a dagger up beneath Horace’s chin. He admitted he still sometimes saw Horace’s face and advised Odessa that she would never forget, only keep living.

The weight of the day broke through Odessa’s composure and she wept for the life she took and for the part of herself that felt lost. Ransom held her, absorbing her pain, and did not let go until she fell asleep and the dawn came, her inner fractures beginning to mend.