Bryce tells the Aux over the intercom that a gas explosion caused the damage, concealing any mention of Micah. She goes upstairs to Jesiba's office to comfort Syrinx, holding him until he falls asleep. She finds messages from Jesiba, who confirms that everyone at the Summit witnessed Bryce's destruction of Micah. Bryce replies simply, "Good."

Bryce then descends to the flooded archives. There is no trace of Lehabah—not even ash remains. The nøkk's dried-out corpse lies on the mezzanine, still gripping the iron railing. Jesiba's protective spells shielded the books and small tanks, but the building itself is in ruin. The silence of Lehabah's absence hits Bryce hard. She tucks away the knowledge Micah revealed: the Horn of Luna is tattooed on her back, healed and functional after the blast, though at least no portal opened.

Bryce returns upstairs and vomits into a trash can as the antidote's venom burns through her system. She considers calling someone but no one comes to punish her. She opens the gallery door to face the world and hears screaming in the distance. Grabbing Syrinx, she runs toward the noise and realizes why no one has come for her or the Horn—the city has far bigger problems.

At the Summit, chaos reigns. The Asterian Guard has flown off for instructions, and Sandriel sits stunned by Bryce's casual disposal of Micah's ashes. Hunt moves to sit beside Ruhn and Flynn, noting the situation has worsened. The Autumn King has Declan Emmet and other techs monitoring multiple feeds. Ruhn fears they will kill Bryce for murdering a Governor—for proving that a sprite and a half-human could defeat an Archangel. Sabine stares blankly at screens beside the dozing Prime. Sandriel leaves with a phone call, her triarii in formation, and Pollux grins as if she may soon be named Archangel of Valbara.

Ruhn urges Hunt to form a plan to shield Bryce. Queen Hypaxia joins them, unlocking Hunt's gorsian stone manacles with a key. She tells them there are bigger issues, gesturing to city surveillance feeds Declan has pulled up. The room goes silent as Ruhn asks if what he's seeing is what he thinks it is. The chapter ends with the revelation that Micah's experiment with the Horn did not fail—something catastrophic has opened or begun in the city.