After the battle at Adriata, Feyre helps in the Illyrian camp above the city, where the wounded are so numerous that the army cannot yet move. Azriel gathers reports that Hybern’s fleet has retreated across the sea, while Cassian moves among the injured, offering comfort and basic healing. Feyre notices that Rhysand alone appears outwardly steady and authoritative, even as the devastation of the battle and Tarquin’s hostility leave her shaken.

Exhausted, Feyre collapses and wakes in a tent with Rhysand, who has been reviewing casualty lists. They speak about the dead, the burden of notifying families, and the King of Hybern’s deliberate cruelty. Rhysand admits the king targeted the library and this battle to wound him personally and is deeply disturbed that the king knows so much about their past and their vulnerabilities. Feyre comforts him, tells him she loves him, and insists that they need more allies if they are going to survive the war.

Feyre then urges Rhysand to move up the meeting with the High Lords and proposes a major change in strategy: they should stop hiding behind carefully cultivated masks and present themselves honestly. She argues that Velaris is already exposed, Tarquin has already shown the cost of their deceptions, and trust with the other courts will require truth. Rhysand agrees that they should reveal the Court of Dreams and show who he, Mor, Cassian, and Azriel truly are, though they decide Feyre must still conceal the full extent of the powers she took from the other High Lords because that revelation could turn potential allies against her or put her in direct danger.

Their conversation turns to missing allies. Rhysand says Azriel’s spies still cannot find Miryam and Drakon or their people, and he regrets never establishing a way to contact them. He admits that even with Drakon’s forces and possibly Vassa’s, victory against Hybern is uncertain. Seeking comfort and a sense of life against the constant presence of death, Feyre and Rhysand become intimate in the tent.

At dawn, Feyre and Rhysand return to Velaris while Cassian and Azriel remain behind to move the Illyrian forces, and Cassian plans to visit the families of the fallen. In the town house, Nesta and Amren demand news, and Rhysand gives a restrained account of the victory and Tarquin’s losses. Tension sharpens when Nesta asks where Cassian is and Mor responds with open hostility, warning Nesta to keep silent when Cassian returns. Rhysand ends the confrontation by ordering Mor to summon the other High Lords for a meeting in three days. As Amren resumes lessons with Nesta, Feyre asks Rhysand through the bond to take her immediately to the Prison.