Feyre rides with Lucien, Jurian, Dagdan, Brannagh, and sentries to inspect the Wall. On the way, Feyre notes that the woods themselves seem to recoil from the Hybern party, and she confirms that despite her nightlong vigilance, Dagdan and Brannagh have not left detectable daemati influence on the manor. At the Wall, the group studies an invisible gap that Feyre once used to cross into Prythian. Lucien explains there are three known holes along their border and one at sea, and Brannagh makes clear that Hybern wants to break the Wall on land, not from the water. Feyre also catches an important hint when Dagdan says the human queens on the continent have a weak hold over their people.

Feyre deliberately draws close to Lucien and lets Dagdan and Brannagh see her using him as a shield, encouraging them to believe she is wary and dependent. When the Hybern royals move off to examine the breach, Feyre and Lucien speak alone. Feyre asks where Lucien would have stood in the last War, and Lucien says he would have joined the human-Fae alliance, especially if his father had not. Lucien then admits that guilt drove him to help Tamlin go to Hybern, because he believed he was rescuing Feyre. When Feyre thanks him, Jurian interrupts and mocks Lucien for touching what belongs to Tamlin, but Feyre silently warns Lucien not to react, showing him that Jurian is testing for fractures between them.

Back at the stables, Ianthe announces that Tamlin wants a party for the Hybern guests during the Summer Solstice. After Feyre and Lucien leave her, Feyre presses Lucien about what happened while she was gone. Lucien reveals that Tamlin refused to perform the Calanmai Rite, so Lucien took his place and completed it with Ianthe because the court required it and Ianthe insisted. He asks Feyre not to tell Elain when they find her again. Feyre realizes Lucien is ashamed and hurt by what happened, and she sincerely promises to keep his confidence, making their friendship feel more genuine than it has in a long time.

Over the next two days, Feyre attends meetings with Dagdan and Brannagh by acting harmless and quiet. She uses those meetings to feed Hybern a careful blend of truth and lies about the Night Court, the Illyrian forces, and the effectiveness of Hybern's anti-magic stones, while pretending memory gaps or trauma whenever she needs to avoid a question. Even so, the Hybern royals remain tightly guarded and reveal little about their own armies or allies. In her room, Alis studies dresses that no longer fit Feyre's altered body and notices that Feyre looks healthier and stronger than she ever did after Under the Mountain, despite the story that Rhysand ruined her.

Alis then tests Feyre by producing a surviving set of Night Court clothes that Tamlin missed when he destroyed the others. When Feyre reacts, Alis reveals that she saw Morrigan rescue Feyre from the manor and knew Feyre had not been abducted, but kept silent. Alis also says her cousin in Adriata heard that Feyre had been healthy, laughing, and happy in the Summer Court, and Alis openly states that Feyre returned from the Night Court not wrong, but right. Without naming Feyre's plan, Alis asks only that her nephews be spared from whatever retribution Feyre intends. Feyre denies everything aloud, but understands that Alis has seen through her act. Alis gives her a white dress originally meant for after Feyre's wedding, and Feyre wears it for the solstice.