Meryn awakens in the castle dungeons after being knocked unconscious following her killing of King Cyril. She hears the same mysterious voice from her earlier seizures commanding her to "GET THE CROWN" before she fully regains consciousness. She finds herself in a cold, dark cell with Anassa, who is alert but wearing a blood-red metal collar that blocks pack bond communication while leaving their personal bond intact.

Killian visits Meryn in her cell, alone but with guards lurking behind him. He now carries the wolf-pommel sword at his hip, and Meryn notices something subtly wrong about him—his eyes briefly appear ghostly ice-blue when light strikes them. Rather than acknowledging their shared plan to kill the king, Killian insists that they never planned anything together and claims Meryn is suffering from the same madness that afflicted her mother. He frames her actions as a psychotic break caused by grief and stress, telling her that imprisoning her was the only way to save her from those calling for her execution. He kisses her forehead and lips, professing love, but Meryn catches a flash of something ancient and cold beneath his mask of concern. Anassa screams "LIAR" through the bond throughout the encounter.

After Killian leaves, Meryn confronts Anassa about her long-standing secrecy, demanding to know why the direwolf never explained her warnings about Killian or revealed her mate's identity. Anassa turns the accusation back on Meryn, pointing out that trust goes both ways—Meryn hid her relationship with Killian in secret, so Anassa protected her mate's identity out of fear Meryn would share it with the prince. Meryn recognizes the fairness in this and relents.

Anassa reveals that her mate is in the castle and that the collar's magic only blocks pack bonds, not mating bonds, meaning she can still communicate with her mate. Meryn seizes on this, asking Anassa to contact her mate and coordinate with Venna for help. Drawing on the mysterious voice's command, Meryn orders Anassa—deliberately framing it as a direct Alpha order after sensing the importance of doing so—to have her mate retrieve a crown buried under the arena's central drain and bring it to them. Anassa transmits the message and confirms it is done.