Oraya wakes in Raihn and Mische’s apartment, recovering from her injuries and immediately noticing how strange their dynamic is. Mische is openly friendly and excitable in a way Oraya has never seen in a vampire, while Raihn is rougher but unexpectedly gentle with Mische. Raihn and Mische present Oraya with the severed head of the Bloodborn vampire who attacked her, making it clear they killed him after he nearly tore her apart.

As Oraya studies the corpse, Raihn explains that the man’s condition was not ordinary bloodlust but a Bloodborn curse, something worse and more final. That revelation changes the attack from a simple act of violence into evidence of a deeper corruption. Although Raihn frames their actions as practical alliance, Oraya feels the danger of having tied herself to them out of desperation.

Mische then shows Oraya their luxurious apartment in the Moon Palace. From her new room, Oraya sees Sivrinaj from a different angle and realizes that even the inner city is decaying beneath its grandeur, while the human slums lie disturbingly close to the Nightborn castle. Later, over a meal, Oraya learns Raihn and Mische stocked blood and food from the feast hall, sees Mische casually use fire magic from Atroxus rather than Nyaxia, and cautiously discusses magic with both of them. Raihn stays evasive about his own powers, despite Oraya having seen him use shadowed magic in the trial.

The uneasy calm is shattered when Angelika, leader of the House of Blood contestants, arrives pounding on the door and demanding to know where the dead Bloodborn man is. Raihn meets her with drawn sword, and the two fight in the hallway as equals, revealing Angelika’s brutal strength and blood magic and Raihn’s extraordinary skill. During the confrontation, Raihn says the dead vampire had already lost himself and attacked Oraya in the greenhouse in daylight, implying he was beyond saving and would have become another tool of the Moon Palace. Angelika backs down but promises she would rather kill Oraya in the trials than here, warns Raihn that his luck will run out, and leaves. Afterward, Raihn identifies Angelika as the real threat, while Mische responds with pity for her.