Gideon confronts William after catching him threatening Rune, and although Gideon wants to kill him, Gideon stops because he needs William alive. William accuses Gideon of betraying the Republic by keeping the Crimson Moth alive and letting Rune pose as his wife, but Gideon lowers the immediate tension so he can try to win William over.

Gideon tells William that killing Rune would not prevent war, because Soren would still give Cressida an army to avenge his dead fiancée. Gideon then reveals the larger danger: Cressida is not only preparing for war, but also planning to raise her dead sisters. Because of that, Gideon argues that the real goal should be destroying Cressida before she can complete her plans.

Gideon explains his new strategy: he wants to bring Rune into the New Republic alive and use her as a bargaining chip to draw out both Cressida and the long-lost Roseblood heir. He asks William to report this plan to Harrow and persuade her to trust him for one week. Gideon promises that if he fails to kill the Roseblood heir and hand Rune over to the Blood Guard within that time, Harrow can kill him herself.

William agrees to carry the message, and Gideon immediately asks for more help. At gunpoint, Gideon orders William to make sure no witch hunters or hunting hounds come near the ship before they disembark, since Gideon needs to get Rune ashore unnoticed. Gideon also tells William to stay hidden so Rune will think he is dead. William leaves after warning Gideon that sympathy for witches now leads to execution, not leniency, and threatening that if Gideon fails, William will come for Rune himself.