Feyre and the Night Court enter the Dawn Court’s meeting chamber and find Thesan, Kallias, and Helion already present. Feyre notes the room’s beauty, the wing-shaped chairs, and the reflection pool at its center, while Rhys quietly identifies Thesan’s Peregryn guards and lover. When Thesan greets them, Feyre does not bow like a subordinate; instead, she stands as Rhys’s equal, and Thesan quickly realizes from her tattoo and crown that Feyre is no longer merely Rhys’s consort.

Kallias’s wife, Viviane, joyfully reunites with Mor, shifting the mood briefly from suspicion to warmth. Kallias jokes about Viviane, but tension still lingers between him and Rhys. Helion then arrives and immediately cuts to the real issue, asking whether Tamlin knows Feyre is Rhys’s mate and High Lady. Helion’s attention turns to Nesta, and when he and Thesan press for an explanation, Feyre states plainly that Hybern threw Nesta and Elain into the Cauldron after Tamlin and Ianthe betrayed Feyre’s family.

As the group waits for the other courts, conversation turns to Viviane and Kallias’s history. Viviane explains, mostly through Mor’s excited questioning, how Kallias secretly loved her for years, how she protected his people while he was trapped Under the Mountain, and how they married immediately after his return, with the mating bond snapping into place that night. The story briefly lightens the atmosphere, but Helion continues to watch Feyre and Nesta closely, assessing what their transformed powers might mean.

Tarquin eventually arrives with Varian and Cresseida, bringing fresh strain into the chamber because of the damage done to trust between Summer and Night. Soon after, Beron enters with his sons and his wife, and the mood darkens further. Beron’s sons sneer at the others until Eris reins them in, and Eris’s cold attention toward Mor revives painful history and sharpens the hostility in the room. The last empty chair makes Tamlin’s absence conspicuous and ominous.

Once everyone is seated, Thesan formally yields the floor to Rhys to explain why he forced the High Lords to gather so urgently. Rhys barely begins before Tamlin suddenly winnows straight into the chamber without ceremony or escort. His wolfish smile ends the chapter by turning the already hostile summit into an immediate confrontation.