Hunt wakes in the guest room of Bryce's apartment to find Syrinx, the chimera, sitting on the pillow beside him. It is seven in the morning, and Bryce is still sound asleep. Hunt checks his phone for messages from Micah and finds none, then ventures into the great room. Discovering Bryce still in bed—wearing a short gray nightgown edged in pink lace, with bruises from the previous night's events—he catches himself staring and turns away.

Juniper arrives with spare keys and chocolate croissants. She initially assumes Hunt and Bryce are romantically involved, but Hunt insists it's not what it seems. While Hunt makes coffee in the kitchen, Juniper and Bryce discuss the White Raven bombing: news reports blame human rebels from Pangera based on video footage of their insignia on a wine case, and the club is badly damaged. Juniper also reveals that Riso, the club's butterfly-shifter owner, has put a bounty on whoever was responsible, and that Fury Axtar may return to Crescent City because of the bounty. Bryce is bitter that Fury would come home for a job rather than to see her friends. Juniper apologizes for injuring Bryce during the bombing chaos, and the two exchange terse words about how their friend group dealt differently with Danika's death before Juniper departs for rehearsal.

Left alone, Bryce and Hunt settle into a bickering morning routine. Bryce teases Hunt about being an "alphahole"—a possessive, aggressive male archetype—and Hunt fires back by noting that Bryce is the one who parades around in lingerie every morning. He insists she get him a set of keys and add him to the apartment's enchantments for her safety, and declares they must go everywhere together from now on. Bryce objects but ultimately does not refuse, and Hunt says he needs to go to the Comitium to get fresh clothes, making clear Bryce will accompany him.