Nico is sparring with Reina in the garden and loses focus, taking a hit to the face. Reina observes he's distracted, and after they stop, Nico sits on the lawn brooding. The chapter then flashes back to an earlier conversation Nico had with Parisa in the painted room. He approaches her hesitantly, and she reads his thoughts, calling him out for lurking and sulking. Nico admits to Parisa that her death inside his head during their astral plane experiment still haunts him, and he feels responsible. Parisa tells him the version of her in his head doesn't exist and urges him not to dwell on it.

Their conversation turns flirtatious and intimate. Parisa confesses she finds Nico the most desirable of the group but refuses to sleep with him because he would give too much of himself and she doesn't want to ruin him. She then probes into Nico's dreams, recognizing that he communicates with someone named Gideon. Nico reluctantly reveals that Gideon is a half-mermaid, half-satyr creature who can travel through dream realms, and that Nico himself transforms into a falcon to join Gideon in those realms. Parisa is impressed and theorizes that dreams constitute their own astral plane, absent of time, and may represent the intersection of time and thought.

Nico explains that Gideon is valuable and in danger—his mother, Eilif, used his abilities for criminal purposes, and Gideon has been hiding from her and her employers since trying to stop. Nico confesses he's been searching the Society's archives for information about what Gideon is: his powers, life span, and whether anyone like him has existed before. Parisa empathizes, noting Gideon's very human longing for a species or collective. She advises Nico to carry a talisman—a secret object that anchors him to reality—so he can always distinguish real life from constructed planes or dreams, and suggests Gideon should do the same.

As Parisa moves to leave, Nico urgently asks whether she believes Callum would truly hurt her. Parisa deflects, saying it doesn't matter because she intends to kill Callum before he can harm her. She then tells Nico something else—unspecified but deeply shaking—that leaves him reeling for hours. The chapter returns to the garden scene with Reina. Still disturbed, Nico asks Reina if she would kill someone to keep everything the Society offers. Without hesitation, Reina answers yes.