Bryce and Hunt descend into the hidden cells beneath the Comitium to interrogate Philip Briggs, the imprisoned human rebel leader. The sterile underground facility, with its bleach smell and floor drains, unsettles Bryce. Briggs appears gaunt and broken, a shell of his former self after two years of daily torture at Adrestia Prison—taken apart and stitched back together by medwitches each day. He doesn't even know the date. Despite his horrific condition, Bryce reminds herself that Briggs had planned mass killings to overthrow the Asteri and ignite war between humans and Vanir.

When asked about the White Raven bombing, Briggs denies involvement but concedes his Keres followers could have carried it out. He makes a surprising revelation about Danika Fendyr: before arresting him, Danika met with Briggs twice, warning him to stop his plans, and even let some of his followers escape during the raid. Briggs claims Danika was sympathetic to the human rebel cause, possibly influenced by seeing how her half-human friend Bryce was treated. He also mentions that his followers considered Danika a potential asset. Briggs insists he never killed Danika and kept quiet about her sympathies during his sham trial to protect allies who might share her views. He declares Keres didn't kill Danika or the Pack of Devils.

The interrogation deeply affects Hunt, who recognizes disturbing parallels between Briggs's fanaticism and his own past as a leader of Shahar's rebellion. Back at Bryce's apartment, Hunt opens up about his nine years of imprisonment—seven in the Asteri's lightless dungeons and two more under Archangel Ramuel's torture—before being put to work as an assassin. He confesses that hatred, not hope, was all that sustained him, making him feel no different from Briggs. Bryce takes his hand and firmly tells him he is not like Briggs, that she sees his kindness, and that he is not a bad person.

The emotional moment gives way to lighter banter as Bryce teases Hunt about his backward sunball cap, which clashes with his fearsome reputation. They refocus on the case: with Briggs and the Viper Queen eliminated as suspects, they turn to Danika's unexplained presence at Luna's Temple the night the Horn was stolen. Hunt suggests re-examining the temple's exterior camera footage with better analysis, noting that Danika's presence there was never officially reported. He hints he knows someone who can run a more comprehensive examination of the footage.