At dawn, after disposing of Tarik Relaken’s body, Raeve wakes on the skybridge and makes her way down into the busy Ditch. Still tired and wary, Raeve checks that nobody is following her, adjusts her veil and gown to keep herself concealed, and heads through the waking market toward a runi supply shop.

Raeve visits Ruse to collect the items on Essi’s list. Their exchange makes clear that Raeve’s latest kill was messy, but Ruse has every supply Raeve needs. The brief sight of Uno’s affectionate tail and Ruse’s familiar presence gives Raeve a rare moment of ease.

When Ruse opens Raeve’s account ledger, Raeve sees that her bloodstone total has dropped from 721 to 610. Raeve realizes Sereme must have charged her for the support she begged the Elding to provide on a mission where she could not save all the younglings alone. The deduction renews Raeve’s bitterness toward a system that pays her for killing while also using money to control her.

Raeve asks Ruse to replace a ruined layer of her special gown and to commission a lighter sawtooth blade with a thigh sheath, motivated by her unease over the accented man she spared after Tarik’s death. Raeve also says she will return later to withdraw bloodstone for another scatter because people in the Undercity are starving, continuing her habit of giving away much of what she earns. Before Raeve can leave and finally sleep, Ruse stops her with a message from Sereme: the summons is an order, not a request, so Raeve heads upstairs to face her.