Bryce sprints through the rain to the Autumn King's villa in Five Roses, furious that her father deliberately withheld Fae scent-diagnostic technology that could have helped solve Danika's murder. She demands entry, but the Fae sentries block her with a shield of heat and hurl slurs at her, calling her a "half-breed." Hunt arrives and threatens the guards with his lightning, but Ruhn, Flynn, and Declan also show up. Ruhn orders the guards to stand down, but they refuse. Ruhn tries to calm Bryce, explaining the Autumn King was protecting her, but Bryce rejects this, convinced her father only wants the Horn. She tells Ruhn to deliver a message to their father—that she will never forget this—and storms off.

Instead of going home, Bryce heads to Lethe, an old whiskey bar. She texts Juniper, who can't come and expresses concern about Bryce drinking again. Hunt follows and brings a healing tonic for her leg. He gently suggests there are better ways to cope, but Bryce lashes out, cruelly bringing up Shahar and the intimate moment they shared on the roof. Hunt, stung, leaves. Later, Bryce returns to the apartment with groceries and a bag of Danika's old clothes she retrieved from a storage unit, hoping they might contain scent evidence. She also checked the storage unit for any trace of the Horn.

Bryce cooks an apology dinner for Hunt—ground turkey, rice, and vegetables—and the two share a long, vulnerable conversation. Bryce opens up about feeling directionless even before Danika's death, her insecurities about being a half-human with no clear path, and how partying was the only equalizer among her talented friends. She reveals she killed some of the asp shifters who shot Danika during a smuggling bust years ago. She explains that losing Danika extinguished something inside her—the one person who made her feel brave and unjudged—and that she can't dance anymore because it reminds her of that lost joy.

Hunt reciprocates by sharing his own perspective on the Fallen rebellion. He admits that even without rebelling, he would have ended up in a similar servitude due to his lightning powers. He says he'd still rebel again, and that if freed, he remembers every angel and authority figure responsible for his sentencing. He tells Bryce that living well is the ultimate defiance. Bryce offers Hunt the spare room permanently if they solve the case, calling it "home," which deeply moves him. He accepts her simple apology dinner.

The chapter ends with Bryce in a dreamlike state. A cat with dawn-blue eyes sits on her dresser—an echo of her childhood encounter. The cat asks "What blinds an Oracle?" and reveals it knows Bryce is the Autumn King's daughter. It tells her to "make the Drop" because the Autumn King will kill it if he discovers it spoke to her, and urges Bryce to come find it so they can "finish this."