Back at Bryce's apartment after their confrontation at the Den, Hunt and Bryce discuss their next steps over cereal. Hunt cautions that arresting Sabine requires careful planning given her power as unofficial head of Moonwood and near-Prime of the wolves. Bryce, emotionally drained, wants immediate action but reluctantly agrees to patience. They have heard nothing from Tharion or Ruhn.

Hunt asks about Amelie's hostility toward Bryce, prompting Bryce to reveal the aftermath of the leaked messages from the night of Danika's murder. Amelie harbored long-standing feelings for Connor and resented Bryce after seeing the messages that revealed his devotion. Bryce describes the public hatred she endured: she had to shut down all her online accounts, and wolf packs even composed a mocking song about her. She internally recalls a dark moment two winters ago when someone sent a thousand printed lyric sheets to her apartment, and she went to the roof intending to jump—only saved by Juniper calling on a whim and then rushing over. Juniper stayed with Bryce for three days without ever explicitly addressing what had almost happened.

The conversation shifts to lighter topics. Hunt compliments Bryce's work on the case, and Bryce shares that her adoptive father Randall Silago, a former Dracon captain and renowned sharpshooter, trained her extensively in firearms, knives, and swords. She hints at having used those skills in real situations. Bryce then receives urgent messages from Jesiba demanding she return to the gallery for a client and complete overdue paperwork, with threats of transformation into various creatures.

At the gallery, Hunt departs for the roof and later heads to the 33rd's headquarters at Isaiah's request, leaving Justinian on watch. Alone on the roof earlier, Hunt reviews archived video footage of the kristallos attack two years ago—watching Bryce chase the demon barefoot through shattered glass, drugged but furious. He reflects on the cruelty she endured from the public and acknowledges she doesn't remember him from the interrogation room that night.

Hunt's thoughts turn to the Bone Quarter and Danika's Sailing ceremony. He recalls that Bryce was absent—likely because of Sabine's threat to her life. He remembers Sabine pushing Danika's boat into the Istros, the Under-King accepting her remains, and Sabine leaving before the rest of the Pack of Devils' Sailings. He also recalls Ithan Holstrom weeping as he sent Connor's remains into the river, a stark contrast to the cold young male they met today. Hunt reflects on Bryce's fierce loyalty to Danika's memory and wonders what it would be like to have a friend like that.