Before dawn, Oraya slips out of the Moon Palace to a secret meeting place Vincent chose beneath a bridge between the palace and Sivrinaj. Seeing him breaks through the control she has maintained since Ilana’s death, but she hides her grief. Vincent treats the cut on her hand with rare human-safe medicine, notices the bloodied purple silk bandage, and asks about it, but Oraya lies and says she found it in the palace.

Vincent then gives Oraya a matched pair of custom short swords made specifically for her fighting style. The craftsmanship and symbolism of the Nightborn weapons make Oraya feel both awed and unworthy, but she accepts them as a promise of what she intends to become if she wins. As dawn approaches, Vincent warns her that the Kejari will allow no weakness and reminds her that she must be more resilient, clever, and vicious than the vampires around her. He also reveals that the blades are poisoned and can be refilled through the hilts, a practical gift that Oraya understands as his way of showing love.

When Oraya returns to the Moon Palace, she nearly collides with Raihn. Armed with her new blades, she immediately prepares to fight, but Raihn blocks her path and confronts her about sneaking out to see Vincent. He also brings up the previous night, claiming he had tried to save her life after Ilana’s death and demanding an apology for Oraya stabbing him. Oraya accuses him of using the chaos for his own power play, and their exchange becomes tense, taunting, and darkly flirtatious.

During the conversation, Raihn implies that he knows Oraya killed the Rishan contestant and chose not to expose her. Oraya does not trust his motives and refuses to give him anything, though she briefly realizes he may truly have tried to intervene. A sudden wave of grief over Ilana nearly cracks her composure, but she turns it back into anger and escapes the encounter by threatening him again and mocking him in return. Raihn lets her go, amused rather than offended.

That night, the shadow summons gather the contestants in the great hall for the first trial. Oraya observes how the field has changed in a single day: many contestants now wear better weapons and armor, some display signs of magic, and several have already formed temporary alliances in preparation for future team-based trials. She studies the House of Blood group and notices their apparent leader bears visible signs of her curse’s advancement. Oraya also notices Raihn standing beside the cheerful short-haired woman, while Ibrihim arrives late, limping badly on his ruined foot.

As the full moon hangs over the palace, Oraya tries to anticipate the first trial based on past Kejaris, expecting some variation on Nyaxia’s first ordeal involving beasts, darkness, or treacherous terrain. The contestants wait in mounting confusion until one of them finally asks what they are supposed to do. Before anyone receives an answer, the entire Moon Palace vanishes around them.