Before dawn, Oraya leaves to meet Vincent despite her severe wounds, counting on him to help her after the first trial. She waits under the bridge, but Vincent never comes. Realizing sunrise is too close and that something is badly wrong, Oraya forces herself back to the Moon Palace, weakened further by the wasted trip and increased blood loss.

Inside the palace, Oraya finds the feast hall empty, with food available but the blood carafes ominously drained. She eats what she can and takes more food, then heads for the greenhouse because daytime activity in the palace confirms it is no longer safe elsewhere. Just before she reaches the entrance, a half-feral vampire attacks her, and the effort of defending herself tears open her existing injuries.

The fight spills into the greenhouse, where sunlight weakens the attacker as Oraya pins him against the glass. Even burned by the sun, he keeps fighting in a blood frenzy, and Oraya struggles to block his teeth, claws, and rapier at once. She stabs him once without enough force to finish him, then, nearly collapsing, drives her dagger through his chest with everything she has left.

Although the vampire goes limp, Oraya is too badly hurt to end the fight cleanly. Looking at her own blood-soaked abdomen, she realizes she is in shock and will bleed out, and she finally admits that she cannot survive four months in the Kejari on her own. That realization changes her course: instead of trying to endure alone, she turns toward the spiral staircase leading to Raihn.

Oraya drags herself up flight after flight, leaving blood behind her, until she reaches the door at the top and collapses. Raihn finds her there, greets her with smug amusement, and understands immediately why she has come. As Oraya loses consciousness, Vincent's voice echoes in her mind, underscoring the significance of her choice to seek help from the one ally she had refused.