At the Velvet Snog in Bothaim, Rekk settles in with two Arithian escorts and Terros, the Dhomm rider who carried him there. His thoughts reveal his cruelty and arrogance: he is relieved to have left Líri behind in Dhomm, despises the Moonplume’s weakness, and is already planning to murder Terros and steal Terros’s sturdier mount, Bruus, once the journey is over.

Rekk buys food and drink for Terros, orders a blue-eyed whore to be sent to his suite, and pays to have the floor cleared so he can have complete privacy. While eating, he listens for any gossip about Princess Kyzari and frames her disappearance as a chase meant to excite him. When one of the Arithians asks to debrief before they part ways, Rekk dismisses him and postpones the discussion until morning, making clear that he values his own appetites over their failed mission.

In his room, Rekk finds the woman by the fire and immediately treats her as a purchased body. As he advances on her, she calmly says that she is not fond of fire because of time spent in the Pits of Khindard. Rekk assumes she is role-playing and mocks the idea that anyone survives those pits, joking that she would have to be Fire Lark.

The encounter turns into an ambush. The woman suddenly strikes, driving an iron pin into Rekk’s thigh and throwing its wooden handle into the fire, while his daggers go into the flames as well. The wound and the iron trigger an immediate nulling effect that steals his breath and strength, making Rekk realize that she has been hunting him.

Desperate, Rekk staggers toward the door, only to discover that the handle has been rigged with hidden razors. Before he can escape or recover, the woman hits him in the temple with a heavy blow, and the chapter ends as Rekk loses consciousness.