Prince Ruhn Danaan visits his father, the Autumn King, at his marble villa in FiRo. Ruhn informs the king that Isaiah Tiberian visited him about the murder of Maximus Tertian, which mirrors how Danika's pack was killed—proving Philip Briggs was not the original murderer. The Autumn King already knew this but hadn't bothered to tell Ruhn, dismissing his son's frustration. Ruhn reports that he has already ordered increased Fae Auxiliary patrols throughout FiRo with his friends Flynn and Declan.

The conversation turns to Bryce. Isaiah had questioned Ruhn about her whereabouts and his own, since Bryce interacted with Tertian hours before his death. Ruhn provided Bryce's alibi, telling Tiberian he walked her home and stayed past Tertian's estimated time of death. The Autumn King refers to Bryce dismissively as "that girl," never using her name. Ruhn reflects on Bryce's disastrous first visit to the villa at age thirteen, which opened his eyes to his father's cruelty, and a subsequent falling-out between himself and Bryce that she has never forgiven.

Ruhn requests permission to warn his mother about the murders. The Autumn King grants it indifferently. Ruhn reflects bitterly on his mother's life—selected solely for breeding an heir, never given the title of queen or mate, yet never complaining. He takes pride in inheriting her shadow-walking magic from Avallen's bloodline rather than his father's fire.

The Autumn King then demands Ruhn use his Starborn gift to direct starlight through a prism for an experiment. Ruhn complies, summoning the faint seed of iridescent light with great concentration, though it quickly fades, leaving him with a pounding headache. The king reveals he is studying how light moves and can be shaped, but offers little further explanation.

The king pivots to two major demands. First, he insists Ruhn must enter an arranged marriage with Hypaxia Enador, the newly crowned young witch-queen of Valbara, to forge a political alliance in case the overseas war spreads to their shores. Ruhn vehemently refuses but his father will not relent. Second, the king orders Ruhn to find Luna's Horn, a sacred Fae artifact stolen from Luna's Temple two years ago. The Autumn King reveals that his meeting with Governor Micah that morning provoked him—Micah insulted the Fae's fading power and their loss of the Horn, and the king wants it recovered to reassert Fae strength. He suggests Ruhn's Starborn lineage may help him locate it, since the Horn originally belonged to the first Starborn Prince, Pelias.

As Ruhn leaves, overwhelmed by his father's demands, he reflects with bitter humor on a secret he has kept for decades: the Oracle's true prophecy about him was not that he would be a fair and just king, as his father believes, but rather that "the royal bloodline shall end with you, Prince."