After returning to the manor well after midnight, Feyre is too restless to sleep. She thinks of the past, recalls Tamlin’s attention after the Solstice, and goes to Lucien’s room under the pretense of seeking comfort after a nightmare. Feyre tells Lucien that she still dreams about Under the Mountain, the Attor, and the horrors done to Clare Beddor and her sisters, mixing truth with deception to make the scene believable.

Lucien responds with sympathy and lets Feyre into his room. When Feyre begins to cry and embraces him, Lucien comforts her, holding her and apologizing for what she suffered. Feyre uses the fear in the moment to mask her own scent and power while she monitors the house, waiting for Tamlin to approach.

Tamlin appears in the doorway and finds Feyre and Lucien in an intimate-looking embrace. His face is controlled, but his partially drawn claws reveal his anger and suspicion. Feyre quickly claims that she had a nightmare and came to Lucien because she did not want to wake the house, then leads Tamlin away before Lucien can speak. Back in the hall, Tamlin studies the distance between their rooms, still visibly tense, and Feyre shuts her door on him.

Once Tamlin leaves, Feyre reveals that the entire encounter was planned. She had anticipated that Tamlin would come to her room after the flirtatious signals she gave him that day, dressed to heighten the appearance of impropriety, and left evidence to support the story. Feyre also used a shield of air so Lucien would not detect Tamlin’s arrival until Tamlin saw them together.

Feyre takes satisfaction in the success of the trap because it exploits one of Tamlin’s oldest fears: that she might prefer Lucien and that Lucien might threaten his control. She reflects on Tamlin’s past warning to Lucien and realizes Tamlin will now reinterpret earlier moments between them, including Lucien’s defense of her and his public kneeling that morning. With that damage done, Feyre quietly prepares herself to continue undermining Tamlin from within his own court.