In the war room, Saeris studies the needle-fine shards of Danya’s shattered godsword still embedded in stone. Renfis explains there are 563 pieces and that attempts to pull them free have snapped some fragments, leaving dangerous ends buried in the wall. Saeris suggests sanding the remains flush and replacing the sword, but Renfis insists the weapon is a sacred Alchimeran heirloom tied to Danya’s rank within the Lupo Proelia, Kingfisher’s “wolves,” so discarding it would be sacrilege.

Danya attacks Saeris verbally for not showing enough remorse, and Saeris snaps back. Kingfisher refuses to treat Saeris as Danya’s subordinate and tells Danya to stop wasting time because Saeris might be able to fix what Danya used to try to kill him. As the argument escalates, Saeris realizes the blade contained quicksilver. Kingfisher confirms it had trace quicksilver, and Saeris connects this to her past: it was always quicksilver she sensed and commanded in metals, not iron or gold themselves. Saeris concludes Madra likely hoarded metal to keep quicksilver away from anyone who could control it.

Renfis adds that historical records say most Alchemists needed at least five percent quicksilver in an object and could typically only liquefy it for forging, not fragment a weapon. Lorreth bluntly calls Saeris the most powerful Alchemist ever recorded, but Saeris panics because she still cannot make a relic or reliably forge what they need. Renfis then erupts at Danya, laying out the collapsing reality at the front: Malcolm’s forces grow, supplies have stopped, and if nothing changes, the border will fall within one year, taking the realm with it.

Overwhelmed by the countdown, Saeris leaves the tent and tries to steady herself outside. Lorreth tells her Kingfisher has gone back to Cahlish to see Te Léna, which triggers Saeris’s jealousy alongside her fear of the war. Seeking to blunt the panic, Saeris asks where to get a drink and ends up at the camp tavern with Lorreth, where she drinks heavily and vents that Kingfisher has been “lying.”

Lorreth insists Oath-Bound Fae cannot lie, explaining the choice at the Firinn Stone between being Oath-Bound (truthful, bound by word) or Lawless (able to lie, cheat, steal at the cost of honor). The conversation shifts when Saeris asks about the wolves’ vampiric canines: Lorreth admits they can still drink blood, but it is scandalous and tied to sex, intensely euphoric and dangerously hard to stop. Finally, Lorreth explains how he became one of Kingfisher’s wolves: as a traveling singer, he was nearly drained by stray vampires until Kingfisher saved him by performing an ancient rite that made them blood-brothers by sharing a piece of Kingfisher’s soul. Lorreth reveals the cost of the bond—if Kingfisher dies first, Kingfisher’s spirit would be trapped until Lorreth dies—and Lorreth vows he would kill himself to return the soul-fragment so Kingfisher can move on.