Ithan wakes in a bed at Hypaxia’s embassy, badly injured but alive after the attack. Hypaxia tells him that she and Bryce are safe, then explains that Ariadne slipped away as soon as Hypaxia entered the pizza shop and has vanished from the city cameras. Ithan feels humiliated that he failed to protect anyone, but Hypaxia refuses to blame him and reminds him that Ariadne, as a dragon freed from slavery, had every reason to seize her chance to escape.

As they talk, Ithan asks Hypaxia about two deeper worries. First, he presses her about the Autumnal Equinox, asking her to make sure Connor has not been trapped in one of the sleeping realms when she contacts the dead. Then he asks whether anything can be done for the wolf mystic enslaved by the Astronomer, because the idea of a wolf kept in a tank feels unbearable to him. Hypaxia cannot promise a solution, but she recognizes Ithan’s compassion and tells him he is a good male.

Flynn, Declan, and Tharion arrive to check on Ithan, and their casual concern surprises him. Instead of mocking him for failing, they treat him like a friend and part of their household, even asking Hypaxia when he can come home. Their support affects Ithan deeply because he has not felt that kind of belonging since losing Connor and the old life he had with his team and pack. When Flynn tells him, “We got you, wolf,” Ithan finally laughs and begins to accept that these males truly want him with them.

Elsewhere, Ruhn watches Bryce while Hunt briefs the 33rd about the deathstalker attack. Ruhn silently warns Bryce that the attack proves how dangerous her situation has become, especially now that the Autumn King has officially made her Princess Bryce Danaan. Bryce admits she never wanted this outcome, but when Ruhn asks whether she will act on it, she makes clear that if their father wants a princess, she intends to use that role against him rather than submit quietly.

Later that night, Tharion visits Hypaxia privately in her embassy suite. Their easy teasing reveals a warm friendship built on shared political obligations, but the mood darkens when Pollux and Mordoc prowl the Old Square below, spreading fear wherever they go. After checking that Hypaxia is safe and seeing her coven close ranks around her, Tharion leaves; then, still wet from a dip in the Istros to keep his fins intact, he goes to Ruhn’s crumbling house and asks whether there is room for one more roommate, signaling that he is trying to break further from his old life.