On the rooftop of Griffin Antiquities, Hunt and Isaiah watch Micah survey the city before the Archangel offers Hunt a stunning incentive: solve the murder case before the Summit, and his remaining debt will be reduced to just ten more assignments. Micah warns Hunt to keep the deal secret and to keep his relationship with Bryce strictly professional, threatening dismemberment if Hunt crosses that line. Isaiah nods agreement for both of them, and Micah departs.

Left alone, Hunt and Isaiah discuss the offer's implications. Isaiah believes Micah is sincere rather than scheming, possibly motivated by desperation and by wanting Hunt's loyalty with Sandriel's arrival looming. They discuss Sandriel and her brutal commander Pollux, whom Hunt fears will terrorize the city. Isaiah reassures Hunt that Micah won't give Pollux free rein and suggests that the investigation assignment conveniently keeps Hunt away from the Comitium—and Sandriel—for the duration. Hunt also reveals he hasn't ruled Bryce out as a suspect and plans to monitor her around the clock by sleeping on the roof across from her building, a move Isaiah agrees to cover for.

Hunt reflects on his past: his low birth, his gray wings, how Shahar saw his worth and recruited him into her elite 18th legion, and how Isaiah has always been the best soldier he's known. Isaiah departs to confirm Bryce's alibi with Prince Ruhn Danaan, referencing a past altercation—"the Incident"—where Hunt broke Ruhn's nose at a Spring Equinox celebration, an event Micah secretly enjoyed.

Back inside the gallery, Bryce fumes and speaks with Jesiba via vidscreen. Jesiba warns Bryce not to let the investigation interfere with gallery business and threatens to turn her into a turtle if she loses money. Bryce admits she has no leads now that Briggs has been ruled out—Danika never mentioned Tertian, and the demon's choice of their apartment must have been deliberate. She resolves to find the killer regardless, driven by vengeance for Danika and the Pack of Devils.

Alone, Bryce reflects on her stalled life—secret job applications hidden on her computer, a dead-end position, debts to Jesiba. She rereads Connor's final messages to her, feeling the pain afresh, and resists opening Danika's old audiomails. She starts to message Juniper and Fury about the case but deletes the text, wary of Micah's secrecy order and phone surveillance. She resolves to tell Juniper in person, fearing that if Bryce's connection to the victims is real, her remaining friends could be in danger.