Bryce struggles with the public revelation of her parentage and Hunt’s imprisonment. She tears up Jesiba’s check, discarding the debts it represented, and fixates on Summit coverage to confirm Hunt is alive, noting his regrown wings. She would have traded places with him despite Sandriel and Pollux.

Haunted by the kristallos attack and her perceived mistakes, Bryce searches the laws for a way to free Hunt. Finding none, she acknowledges she already tried the only options—offering to buy him and offering herself—and refuses to believe Hunt’s harsh parting words were genuine.

She keeps the gallery routine, sleeps in Hunt’s room, and watches the opening procession repeatedly. Three days earlier a Comitium envelope arrived: Isaiah sent back Hunt’s white opal with a restrained note—Naomi found it on the barge—adding, “He’s sorry.” Bryce stows, then reexamines the milky stone.

Lehabah gently interrupts, observing Hunt’s misery on the paused footage and Bryce’s own. When Lehabah asks what comes next, Bryce says they return to normal; Lehabah counters by questioning what “normal” is. After Bryce apologizes for not always being a good friend, Lehabah, joined by Syrinx, pledges they will get through it together, and Bryce agrees.