Ruhn visits a quiet medwitch clinic in the Old Square to follow up on last night’s crime scene. After a brief wait marked by calls from Declan and Flynn, the medwitch invites him to a courtyard lunch. Her calm intelligence and composure convince Ruhn to ask for her discretion and insight.

Over tea, Ruhn describes an ancient, Fae-made artifact usable only by the Starborn—implicitly Luna’s Horn—and asks if something broken could be “healed.” The medwitch quickly identifies the Horn and notes that witches and even the Asteri failed to fix it. However, she proposes a new angle: treat the artifact as living, using modern medicine—lasers, drugs, grafts, or transplants—though she is not versed in current tech specifics.

She warns Ruhn to proceed with caution. When Ruhn asks about consulting the witches’ queen, the medwitch confirms Hecuba’s death and that the new queen, Hypaxia, will receive no visitors until the Summit. Ruhn winces, relieved he need not meet the woman his father wants him to marry, but the case is too urgent to wait. The medwitch wishes him luck, and he departs.

Ruhn heads to the Fae Archives to research medical breakthroughs that might align with the clue—light that is not light, magic that is not magic. As he reflects on the conversation and her measured farewell, he realizes he never learned the medwitch’s name.