Fray Diego reports to the king that the traitors Guillén Santángel and Luzia Cotado, along with a Flemish pirate called Pleunis, were burned at the Puerta de Bisagra and damned. Rumors that no remains were found are dismissed as proof they were devilish illusions, not true mortals.

At El Escorial, King Philip lies dying in pain, determined to face death as a great man. Remembering Teoda Halcón’s prediction, Philip summons his confessor and brothers, presses reliquaries to his lips, and searches for comfort in the orange-blossom scent he takes as a sign, even as he weeps for Spain and an unnamed loneliness.

In Madrid, Doña Valentina returns from the execution but rejects Marius, instead filling the house with Quiteria Escárcega and a boisterous circle of artists. They perform a cleansing ceremony in Luzia’s old room, and the house becomes a refuge; Marius finally flees to the countryside, while Valentina never bears a child but becomes a sanctuary figure to many “daughters” from across Spain.

Fortún Donadei’s sleep and confidence collapse, because his powers diminish after the burning. He hides from Don Víctor that the emerald in his golden cross has cracked from the heat, costing him the amplified miracles he relied on; Don Víctor promises a distant journey to a “wise man” who can restore Donadei’s strength, guided by ancient De Paredes instructions, but Don Víctor continually delays out of growing fear. When Don Víctor’s wife becomes pregnant and bears a son, his dread expands into paralysis, his wife leaves with the baby, and Don Víctor dies alone, repeating “tomorrow.”

Before dawn in Valencia, three soot-streaked, naked figures appear near the harbor: Pleunis bolts into the night, while Luzia and Santángel steal clothing and shelter in an inn using Luzia’s whispered magic and Santángel’s underworld contacts. Santángel tells Luzia that seeing her last would still make everything worth it, but at sunrise he burns to ash as Luzia knew he would; Luzia prays in multiple tongues, then speaks the only true magic she trusts, restoring Santángel’s body. With no one hunting them because the world believes them dead, Santángel books passage for Holland, and the chapter ends with their immortal pattern: each morning he dies and she brings him back, as they travel endlessly together.