Ruhn, Ithan, and Cormac wait in an alley in Crescent City while Cormac completes a rebel information drop. The city already feels changed to Ruhn because the Hind’s dreadwolves are openly patrolling its streets. When Cormac returns, he reports that his contact believes the Asteri suspect Emile fled to Crescent City, which likely explains the dreadwolves’ arrival. Cormac warns that this is how the Asteri impose fear and obedience, and Ruhn resolves to alert the city’s power structure before the occupation tightens.

The situation worsens when Mordoc, the Hind’s brutal second-in-command, enters the alley. Ruhn, Ithan, and Cormac hide in shadows, but Mordoc notices their footprints and begins tracking them by scent. Through their mental exchange, Ruhn learns from Ithan that Mordoc is Danika’s father, a fact she refused to acknowledge, and that he is a bloodhound. That revelation makes the danger more immediate, because Mordoc can hunt them even if he cannot see them.

Elsewhere in the Bone Quarter, the Under-King reveals the creature he intends to use against Bryce and Hunt: the Shepherd, an ancient demon from the First Wars that he now uses to drive unwilling souls to the Gate. Bryce realizes her light will not blind it because it is already sightless. When the hound attacks, Hunt strikes it with lightning, but the beast withstands the assault, and the Under-King disappears into the mist instead of fighting directly.

The battle escalates when the Shepherd splits into three hounds that share one purpose. Hunt tells Bryce to run for the river while he holds them off, and Bryce reluctantly obeys because staying would only hinder him. One hound chases Bryce through the mist, but Bryce tricks it into crashing into a mausoleum when it overcommits to her movement. She then tries to return to Hunt, but the fog disorients her, she slams into the Dead Gate, loses the Starsword, and ends up trapped as the Shepherd emerges again between her and the weapon.

Back in the alley, Cormac decides the only way out is to teleport them separately because he can carry only one person at a time. He takes Ithan first, leaving Ruhn alone with Mordoc as the bloodhound circles, taunts him, and identifies him as a fae by scent. Ruhn keeps moving in shadow and suppresses his anger so Mordoc cannot read more from him. At the last possible moment, Cormac returns, creates a distraction, grabs Ruhn, and teleports him away before Mordoc can fully lock onto his trail.