Bryce and Hunt return to her apartment after the battle, greeted by a frantic Syrinx who had somehow opened the locked front door. The Horn tattooed on Bryce's back had sealed every void in the Gates, and her firstlight healed people, buildings, and the world—but could not bring back the dead. The streets are filled with bodies, and the weight of everything crashes down on Bryce: the deaths, Lehabah's sacrifice, seeing Danika's spirit, and the enormity of what she has done and revealed. She breaks down sobbing, and Hunt gathers her and Syrinx into his arms.

On the bed, Bryce notices that while Hunt's halo is gone, his slave tattoo remains. They quietly confess their kills—Hunt reveals he killed Sandriel, and Bryce acknowledges killing Micah. They also discover a new eight-pointed star scar between Bryce's breasts, a mark of the Starborn light. Hunt tells her she now possesses true, significant power in addition to the Horn, and that she'll need to learn to control it. The emotional gravity and physical attraction between them build until they begin kissing, but a phone call from Bryce's mother, Ember, interrupts them.

Ember, who was informed of events by the Autumn King through Declan Emmet, is distraught but relieved Bryce is alive. News has broken publicly about Bryce's parentage and the fact that her power rivals or exceeds the Autumn King's. Bryce deflects her mother's probing questions—about her power, about Hunt, about what happened with Danika—while showering off the grime of battle. She realizes with dread that her mother doesn't yet know about Micah's crimes against Danika or that Bryce killed him.

Meanwhile, Hunt showers and calls Isaiah on a burner phone. Isaiah, now effectively in charge of the 33rd Legion with both Micah and Sandriel dead, reports that the Asterian tanks that bombarded the city have withdrawn and that Naomi survived. Isaiah asks Hunt to come to the Comitium to help restore order. Hunt agrees but is deeply anxious: his slave tattoo means he still belongs to the Republic, and he fears what punishment or reassignment awaits him for killing Sandriel. Just as he glances at his wrist, something catches his attention.

Bryce finishes her call with Ember and receives a new call from an unknown number. The caller is a young male voice she recognizes from television—an Asteri inhabiting a teenage body. She addresses him as "Your Brilliance," ending the chapter on a tense cliffhanger as one of the most powerful beings in their world contacts her directly.