Bryce reveals to Hunt that she has been conducting her own investigation rather than idly wasting time. She shows him a list of suspects she made the previous night and explains that she found Maximus Tertian's girlfriend through his dating profile on Spark. The girlfriend works at the nail salon Bryce visited that morning, and during their conversation, the girlfriend confirmed that Tertian had no direct connection to Danika. The closest link between the two was through two degrees of separation via the Viper Queen, whose nails the girlfriend does on Sundays.

Bryce lays out her theory: Tertian was found dead just over the Viper Queen's borders, the Viper Queen pulled her people off the streets after the murder, and no one knows the full extent of her powers—she could have summoned the demon. Hunt is skeptical but agrees the possibility is worth pursuing, insisting they go through proper channels to contact the Viper Queen. Bryce also explains her motive for visiting Ruhn: she expects her cousin will inform the Autumn King about the investigation, and she wants Hunt's people to monitor the Autumn King's reactions and movements. Hunt objects that surveilling a Fae King violates multiple laws, but Bryce reminds him Micah authorized them to do whatever is necessary.

Hunt angrily tells Bryce never to withhold information from him again, and they part without pleasantries—Hunt flies to the adjacent rooftop to make calls while Bryce goes up to her apartment. Inside, she reflects on the Autumn King's political position: the Fae Kings hold courtesy titles and self-govern within the Republic's legal framework, but they wield genuine fear and power, including the ability to manipulate air, ice, and fire.

After waiting thirty minutes, Bryce arms herself with a knife and another concealed weapon, leaves the lights and TV on to create the illusion she's home, and sneaks out the building's rear stairwell. She takes her scooter through the city toward the Meat Market, a lawless district of dark streets, underground flesh markets, and black-market trade. She parks near a nondescript warehouse and waits. Moments later, Hunt—the Umbra Mortis—slams down from the sky, cracking the cobblestones, furious that she gave him the slip and ventured into the dangerous district alone.