Bryce meets Fury at a dive bar and asks for help breaking into the Asteri archives. Fury calls the plan suicidal and warns that if Bryce is caught, the Asteri and their agents could torture not only Bryce but also her family and friends. Bryce insists that she is not serving either political side and only wants the truth about what Danika was investigating. Although Fury refuses Bryce's idealism, she agrees to gather whatever intelligence she can on the crystal palace layout, and Bryce asks Fury to take Syrinx with her when she leaves the city with Juniper.

Elsewhere, Tharion meets his fiancée, the River Queen's daughter, on a public quay so her mother cannot easily trap him below before he speaks. He finally admits that he wants to end their long, dead betrothal. She reveals that she has known for years that he never wanted her and only stayed silent because she hoped he might choose her freely one day. Hurt and furious, she rejects further discussion, orders him to come Beneath with her, and when he refuses, she dives into the river to tell her mother.

Knowing the River Queen will likely retaliate quickly and that few people in Crescent City could oppose her, Tharion panics. He realizes Bryce, Ruhn, and Celestina cannot protect him in time, and the Depth Charger is too far away. Concluding that only one powerful local figure might shelter him from the River Queen, he runs to seek that person's help before he is dragged Beneath for good.

At the Den, Ithan arrives with Hypaxia to speak to the Prime about the wolf mystic trapped by the Astronomer. In front of Sabine, Ithan argues that the captive is a wolf and an Alpha and deserves rescue, but Sabine contemptuously dismisses the idea and insults both Ithan and Bryce. The Prime stays silent during the confrontation, so Ithan leaves believing he has failed. Then the Prime quietly calls him back, asks about the mystic's appearance and scent, and reveals that Sabine is not the only Fendyr heir. Ithan realizes the mystic may be a legitimate alternative to Sabine, which explains Sabine's fear and suggests she would kill to keep that secret buried.