On the morning of the Unity Trial, the horn sounds before dawn, waking the castle. Meryn, already awake for hours, dresses mechanically and heads to the common lounge, where Rawbonds eat in tense silence. Jonah approaches her and delivers a veiled threat, declaring it a good day to "weed out any unsuitable common blood." His words draw attention from other Rawbonds, and Meryn realizes he is deliberately making a public scene.

Leader Aldrich assembles the Rawbonds and marches them to the arena, which is packed with nobles and Bonded family members for this final Trial before graduation. Meryn reunites with Anassa, and the iron wall she has maintained between them thins as Anassa forces the connection open for the battle ahead. Meryn notes that the grate in the arena floor—where she suspects a hidden crown lies—is covered by a raised stage. King Cyril and Killian take their seats, and Killian nods at Meryn in acknowledgment.

Aldrich explains the Trial: a simulated Siphon assault on the castle. Daemos acts as the enemy, Phylax defends, Kryptos relays intelligence, and Strategos—led by Meryn as the Alpha pair—coordinates all forces in real time. He warns that wolves may use this Trial to cull pairs they find wanting. The horn blasts and the battle begins. Daemos splits into precise attack formations. Through the pack bond, Meryn's consciousness expands, connecting to every Strategos member. She directs Phylax to form defensive lines and Kryptos to watch the flanks. Izabel calculates attack vectors, Tomison analyzes terrain, and Nevah monitors Phylax compliance.

As Daemos probes the eastern defenses, Meryn detects a feint—drawing on her years of pit-fighting experience, she reads a rider's eyes and realizes the main force is actually gathering for a northern strike. She projects the warning through the bond. The northern assault is led by Jonah, whose malicious grin confirms Meryn's sudden, horrifying realization: Jonah's earlier threat about "unsuitable common blood" was not aimed at her but at Henrey, the other commoner Rawbond serving in Phylax.

Jonah's massive black direwolf attacks Henrey's wolf with lethal intent, clawing its face and tearing a gaping wound in its front leg. Henrey's wolf collapses, howling in agony, and the sound fractures Meryn's strategic focus and destabilizes the entire northern defensive line. The surrounding Phylax riders waver, and confusion and anger ripple through the direwolves. In a devastating turn, Henrey's pain-maddened wolf turns on its own rider and lunges for Henrey's throat, ending the chapter on a cliffhanger.