Bryce wakes after a restless night, painfully aware that Hunt is sleeping beside her and that they still have not discussed Tharion’s visit or her decision to look for Emile. Ember calls after hearing rumors that Bryce is engaged to Prince Cormac, backed by photos of Bryce meeting him at the archives. As Ember warns that the Avallen royals will outmaneuver her, Bryce, already stressed and defensive, snaps and tells Ember to stay out of it. The call leaves Bryce ashamed and the apartment tense.

Afterward, Hunt presses Bryce about why she never told him Cormac came to the archives. Bryce fires back that Hunt has no room to complain after landing in a holding cell, but Hunt makes clear that he wants honesty between them because they are supposed to be a team. When they leave for work, Hunt raises the larger issue of Emile and admits Tharion’s news stirred old trauma and fear for Bryce. Rather than forbidding her, Hunt asks that they think the situation through before acting, and Bryce agrees to talk more after her meeting with Fury.

At Tempest in a Teapot, Bryce briefly catches up with Juniper and Fury. Juniper reveals that despite rehearsing for Marceline, she has lost the lead role because the costume supposedly does not fit her, another sign that her career at the CCB remains stalled after the spring crisis and her public defense of humans. Bryce and Fury support her, but Juniper still decides to wait another year before leaving for a smaller company. After Juniper departs, Bryce turns the conversation to Danika.

Bryce quietly tells Fury everything Tharion revealed: Sofie’s contact with Danika, Emile’s importance, the abandoned boat, Ophion’s hunt, and the cryptic references to Project Thurr and Dusk’s Truth. Fury says Danika never hinted at rebel involvement and that Fury never heard of such a connection through her own channels, though she agrees Danika and Sofie clearly knew each other. Fury dismisses the Bone Quarter as the likely meeting place and then reveals a major secret: Danika was a bloodhound, rare enough to scent bloodlines and hidden lineage, a dangerous gift that made her valuable and vulnerable. Even with Fury’s warning that Danika is dead and this search is dangerous, Bryce admits she still wants the truth about Danika and believes finding Emile may lead her to Sofie and the answers she needs.