The Harpy rises to attack, and Ruhn finally understands that the Hind is also Daybright: Lidia Cervos. Her scent is faintly entwined with his, and when he says, "Day?" she answers, "Night." Lidia fights the Harpy with sword and dagger, signals Ruhn to help, and uses his grab on the Harpy’s ankle to create an opening. She then kills the Harpy brutally and efficiently before the angel can expose her.

With the immediate threat gone, Lidia unlocks Ruhn and moves to free Bryce, telling them they must escape quickly. She explains that Rigelus did want them to come here, that Mordoc had been feeding him information, and that warning them more openly would have exposed her as a double agent. When Bryce accuses her of killing Sofie, Lidia denies it and reveals that she used an Ocean Queen calling stone to summon a city-ship to save Sofie, but it arrived too late; she also used such a stone at Ydra to save Bryce and the others. Ruhn is shaken by the revelation that the woman he loved has also been the Hind, and he recoils from her despite her attempt to explain.

Then Lidia hears Pollux approaching and urgently tells Bryce, Hunt, and Ruhn that they must make the scene look real so her intelligence line remains intact. Bryce immediately understands and punches Lidia, then attacks her on the floor just as Pollux arrives. Pollux sees the dead Harpy and the apparent struggle, seizes Bryce by the throat, and reasserts control. Lidia instantly resumes the cold Hind persona, threatening Ruhn at swordpoint so Pollux will believe she is still loyal.

Guards flood in and march Bryce, Hunt, and Ruhn out of the dungeon. In the elevator, Hunt realizes Bryce’s manacles are only being held in place by her fingers because Lidia deliberately left them unlocked, suggesting Lidia is still trying to get Bryce out with the truth she learned about the Asteri. Ruhn, devastated by Lidia’s identity and by Pollux’s possessive cruelty toward her, shuts her out of his mind even as he realizes she has endured Pollux’s abuse to keep feeding the rebels information.

As they cross the crystal palace, Bryce thinks about what Rigelus revealed: the Asteri are parasitic rulers who conquered worlds and fed on their people’s power for millennia. She fears the quartz Gate ahead may mean Rigelus intends to force her to use the Horn, and she accepts that she, Hunt, and Ruhn may not survive to stop the cycle themselves. The group is finally taken into the Asteri’s throne room, where only one throne is occupied and glowing with firstlight, and the Bright Hand of the Asteri taunts Bryce about the Harpy’s death.