After the High Lords' tense meeting, the alliance remains fragile. No one has fully shared troop numbers or vulnerabilities with Tamlin present, but the rulers agree to stay overnight at Thesan's palace. In private, Kallias and Rhys begin cautiously exchanging military information, confirming that Winter and Night still have forces left despite Amarantha's damage. Viviane comforts Mor after Azriel's violent attack on Eris, while Azriel stays withdrawn and silent.

In their suite, Feyre and Rhys briefly assess the meeting. Rhys admits he believes Tamlin was likely working against Hybern from within, though that does not undo the past. Before Feyre can check on Nesta, Helion arrives and drops his swaggering public act. Once inside, he confirms that Day Court's forces are ready to meet Night Court's armies at the Myrmidons, and the group discusses how Beron will likely join the war effort if the other courts unite and Autumn risks becoming a battlefield.

The conversation turns to the Lady of Autumn. Helion reveals that during the first war, Hybern's beasts slaughtered her sisters and cornered her at a ravine, where Helion found and saved her. Mor hints that the two had loved each other before her arranged marriage to Beron, and Helion admits they carried on an affair for decades until Beron discovered it and became even crueler to her. As Helion speaks, Feyre notices how closely he resembles Lucien and realizes that Helion, not Beron, is likely Lucien's true father; Rhys silently agrees that the resemblance and Beron's lifelong treatment of Lucien fit the truth.

Nesta then interrupts and urgently tells Feyre they need to leave because something feels deeply wrong. Cassian takes her fear seriously, and Rhys, Cassian, and Azriel search the palace, grounds, skies, and even Velaris for danger. They find nothing, but no one dismisses Nesta's warning as meaningless. Since no threat can be identified, they remain for dinner, where Kallias and Viviane join them and the mood eases slightly as practical alliance-building finally begins.

That night, tensions beneath the surface become clearer. Mor and Helion gravitate toward each other while Azriel keeps his distance, and Rhys explains to Feyre that Mor and Azriel have avoided confronting their feelings for centuries. Alone with Feyre, Rhys speaks openly about the pain of revealing Amarantha's abuses at the meeting, and Feyre comforts him. Feyre also admits she searched the Spring Court for the wings of Rhys's mother and sister and learned Tamlin had burned them long ago. Still shaken by Tamlin's presence in the same palace, Feyre says she cannot bear physical intimacy that night, and Rhys responds with tenderness, promising simply to hold her.