Bryce wakes in her own bed, having been moved by Hunt during the night. She finds him still asleep in the guest room and begins making coffee. Reading Ruhn's messages, she reflects on their estranged relationship, acknowledging that her reaction to their old argument was overblown and rooted in fear—fear that he held the power to hurt her because she cared so deeply. She can't bring herself to respond. She also receives angry texts from Juniper about missing the dance class with Madame Kyrah, and the two exchange terse words.

Hunt appears in the kitchen, quietly thanking Bryce for caring for him the night before. When she hands him coffee, he kisses her cheek. Intense mutual attraction builds between them—Hunt can scent her arousal, and Bryce fantasizes about him—but burning eggs on the stove break the spell. Bryce retreats, telling herself that letting someone in only gives them power to hurt her. The tension persists unresolved throughout the day at the gallery, where a new terrifying creature—a nøkk—has been delivered to Jesiba's library tank, frightening Lehabah. Bryce and Hunt settle into work, both aware of the stalled investigation and the unanswered questions about the Horn, the kristallos, and the mysterious killings.

Hunt receives a message from Viktoria, the wraith forensic analyst, and leaves to meet her at the bar Munin and Hugin. Viktoria reveals that Mimir test results on Danika's clothes show traces of a synthetic substance—not purely organic, technological, or magical, but a hybrid of all three. She calls it "synth," a relatively new medical compound that has leaked onto the streets as an illegal drug. Traces also appeared on Maximus Tertian's clothes. Bryce connects this to Danika's freelance work at Redner Industries and to Ruhn's earlier mention of a synthetic healing compound.

Back at the apartment, Bryce calls Ruhn, who confirms the medwitch's research is indeed about synth. He reveals that obsidian salt—a component used in demon summoning—is listed among its ingredients. Bryce theorizes that synth could have been used to summon the kristallos demon. She wants to go to the Meat Market immediately to investigate who sells it, but Hunt persuades her to wait until tomorrow and instead spend the evening talking to her parents. He shares the painful story of his mother—a low-ranking angel who was murdered for the meager savings Hunt had sent her, with no one in power caring—and how her death drove him to make the Drop and join Shahar's rebellion.

Bryce relents and spends the evening cleaning the apartment with Hunt in preparation for a video chat with her parents. Despite playful moments—Bryce snapping photos of Hunt cleaning, changing her contact name in his phone to "Bryce Is Cooler Than Me"—Hunt is haunted by Micah's threats and the knowledge that solving the case will separate him from Bryce. The chapter ends as Bryce's mother answers the video call, catching Bryce's comment about liquid courage.