Odessa failed to locate Ransom anywhere in Ellder—through streets, shops, the dungeon’s migration tunnel, and the barracks—before returning to her suite, frustrated by Luella’s betrayal and the emblem linking Luella’s book to Odessa’s pendant. She finally found Ransom on the stairs outside their rooms with her tarkin, Faze, and they set out for a private walk beyond the side gate to avoid being seen.

As they passed the stables and the guards, Odessa reflected on Ransom’s heroism being intrinsic, not a product of Lyssa. Once in the forest, Ransom admitted he wished they did not have to pretend about their relationship due to the political façade with Zavier. He blamed himself for not foreseeing his mother’s role, while Odessa insisted he could not have known. Ransom declared that although he could not undo his mother’s actions, he had to stop his father.

Ransom told Odessa he would not take her to Allesaria and that the only way to end the crisis was to kill the monsters—now including infected men—if King Ramsey continued his fatal experiments. Odessa agreed to support him and decided honesty was her best help. She confessed her orders from her father, King Cross of Quentis: find the tunnel into Allesaria, spy on Ellder, learn about Ransom’s powers, and kill the Guardian if possible. Ransom called her a terrible spy, acknowledging the mess they were in.

They discussed the broader threat: if Lyssa reaches the crux, survival would be impossible, and they should be using the king’s army to eradicate infected monsters before the migration. Ransom took responsibility, vowing to end what began with him. He planned to go to Allesaria to try to convince King Ramsey to stop, ask for soldiers, and at least halt the killings of men through botched Lyssa replication, though he warned the capital had changed.

Odessa pressed on logistics: Zavier and the rangers must remain in the wilds; Ransom could not ask Ellder’s crown-loyal soldiers to defy their king due to blood oaths. She realized Ransom was oath-bound not to order rebellion against Ramsey. When she challenged his odds, Ransom bleakly compared death by infection to death by his father’s sword and said his path always led to his death.

Odessa broke down, refusing to accept his fatalism and begging him not to leave her. Ransom held her as she pleaded for another way. He insisted he lacked an army for this fight—prompting Odessa to consider that her father does have one.