After the vampire assault at the Darn, Kingfisher tracks Saeris down outside the war room and abruptly takes her by shadow gate to his bedroom, telling Renfis they will return in the morning. Inside, Kingfisher orders Saeris not to share food with Carrion Swift again, revealing a sharp jealousy he refuses to explain. Saeris presses him about the riverbank attack and the camp’s suspicion, but Kingfisher insists the raids are routine and that the captains will move on quickly.

When Saeris demands to understand why Malcolm seemed different from the feeders, Kingfisher explains that Malcolm is a high Fae vampire—the first—born from an ancient curse that once changed Fae into vampiric creatures. Most Yvelian Fae took a cure, but Malcolm and others embraced the curse for power and immortality. Kingfisher adds that Malcolm alone can fully turn someone while preserving their mind and personality; Malcolm’s princes create soulless, obedient shells, and many of Malcolm’s horde were once human. Saeris asks whether Kingfisher spent his missing years with Malcolm, but Kingfisher says he “can’t” answer, prompting Saeris to suspect he is magically bound from telling certain truths.

The argument shifts into a confrontation about their mutual pull and Kingfisher’s habit of pushing people away with cruelty. Saeris challenges him directly, and the tension breaks when Saeris asks Kingfisher to prove her wrong and give her what she wants. They have sex, during which Kingfisher’s shadowy power intensifies around them; Kingfisher calls Saeris a “witch” and realizes Saeris has magic. As they touch, Kingfisher’s living ink reacts and transfers onto Saeris, forming a small bird tattoo on Saeris’s forearm, and the stars painted on Kingfisher’s ceiling flare brightly as their magic and release peak.

Afterward, Kingfisher withdraws and dresses with little explanation, telling Saeris to stay in his rooms for the night because the camp is still in chaos. Kingfisher lays out the next day’s plan—Saeris will work in the camp forge on the relics, and Archer will assist if needed—then vanishes through a shadow gate. Saeris checks the door and confirms she is not magically trapped; Archer is waiting in the hall with Onyx and awkwardly offers apple juice and cake to help Saeris “replenish,” while Saeris hastily lies about “moving furniture” before retreating back into the room.