Saeris wakes in Kingfisher’s bed before dawn, tense with fear that he will pull away from her. Instead, Kingfisher silently tests her boundaries with a careful touch, and Saeris chooses to reciprocate, not wanting the “door” between them to close.

They have sex with a new intensity, and Saeris deliberately urges Kingfisher to bite her. Kingfisher bites at Saeris’s neck and then drinks a little of Saeris’s blood while they continue, and Saeris experiences it as overwhelming euphoria. In the aftermath, they lie together; later Saeris wakes alone with a small dried bloodstain on the sheets, realizing the bite happened and that they can now communicate mind-to-mind when speaking directly.

Drawn by the smell of coffee and pastries, Saeris finds Kingfisher at the table, calmer than she expects. He conjures clothes for her with magic, and they share breakfast with Onyx nearby. The mood is briefly light until Saeris notices extensive new living-ink runes covering her fingers, wrists, forearms, and especially a large, complex symbol on her right hand.

Kingfisher examines the Marks and explains only some meanings: the left-hand symbol means “blessed one,” while others relate to alchemy and elemental concepts. He refuses to define the largest rune yet, confirms the Marks hold magic, and—at Saeris’s insistence—uses magic to hide the runes from her skin, warning that Saeris has about a month to decide whether to accept them permanently.

When Saeris asks about Kingfisher’s own tattoos, he names a few—“vengeance,” “justice,” and a large “sacrifice” mark—then closes off. Saeris points out the small bird tattoo below her collarbone, and Kingfisher stiffens, saying he cannot take “that” back and apologizing, abruptly ending their calm breakfast to prepare to leave and to say goodbye to Wendy. While bathing, Saeris discovers two healing bite welts above the bird tattoo and realizes Kingfisher’s apology was not about the bird at all, but about the bite mark at her throat.