As night falls, Bryce prepares two obsidian-salt circles and secures Syrinx, over Hunt’s objections to summoning a demon. The temperature plummets as Aidas, Prince of the Chasm, appears within the binding circle. Bryce questions him about the kristallos and Danika’s murder while Hunt gauges the danger.

Aidas recognizes Bryce from a meeting when she was thirteen and notes Hunt’s halo as a "black crown." He deflects blame from the higher princes, muses that Hel is a distant planet connected by the Northern Rift, and implies other realms may be involved. Before departing, he advises rerunning tests to find what is in-between, tells Bryce to make the Drop, and says the Oracle did not see but he did.

After the room thaws, Hunt berates Bryce for the risk. Bryce explains Aidas once visited her at the Oracle as a white cat, urged her not to cry, and left her with enough comfort that she trusted he would not harm her now.

Acting on Aidas’s hint, Bryce calls Declan Emmet about reexamining evidence. Declan recommends the superior Fae Mimir scent diagnostic, which was never done. Ruhn comes on the line to reveal a direct order had blocked Fae involvement then. Furious at the Autumn King’s interference, Bryce vows confrontation and runs out.