Raeve wakes from a fire-filled nightmare in a filthy prison cell in Gore. The shock of captivity, the pain from Rekk’s whipping, the iron restraints on her wrists and ankles, and the pin still lodged in her shoulder make clear how badly she has been broken down. She steadies herself by humming, then takes stock of the dungeon and her injuries.

A woetoe prisoner in the next cell, Wrook, speaks to Raeve and confirms that she is expected to face trial before the Guild of Nobles. Raeve immediately understands the danger behind that choice: the Guild would not preserve her for judgment out of mercy, but because a public trial or execution could be used to bait more Ath to the surface. Wrook reveals that he is imprisoned for stealing in order to punish his master, while Raeve notices another prisoner across the hall, a woman jailed for refusing to truthtune for the Crown.

The sight of the imprisoned truthtune makes Raeve think of the Crown’s forced testing of children for elemental gifts and the cruelty that follows both gifted children and those labeled nulls. Her anger and grief deepen as prison guards arrive with food. One guard makes Raeve sign and thumbprint a charge slip for her meal, emphasizing that even survival in captivity will come with another form of punishment and debt.

When the food is shoved into her cell, Raeve is hit by memories of the mines and of feeding Essi plain gruel when Essi’s stomach could tolerate little else. Unable or unwilling to eat, Raeve instead pushes her bowl to Wrook after noticing that he has been secretly digging in his cell, chasing a desperate and probably hopeless escape. Raeve’s small act of generosity comes from recognizing his need and from clinging to one last useful choice inside confinement.

Left alone again, Raeve compares this prison to an earlier cell-bound life in which love gave her a reason to endure. Now, with Essi gone, revenge hollow, and her body shackled and wounded, Raeve sees almost no path forward. By the end of the chapter, Raeve concludes that death may be the only way she will ever leave the cell.