In the early hours after the equinox ball, Ithan meets Hypaxia in an olive grove outside the city so she can honor her promise to help him speak to Connor. Hypaxia, pale after leaving the party briefly because of stomach cramps, arranges seven candles in a six-pointed star with one at the center and explains that the symbol represents balance and the place where power can be focused. She warns Ithan to stay outside the candle line no matter what happens, then begins the ritual.

Elsewhere, Ruhn meets Day again across their mental bridge and immediately apologizes for the failed garden rendezvous and the danger caused by the Harpy and the Hind. Day reveals that she did come and saw him, but refuses to tell Ruhn where she is because one mistake could get them both killed. Their conversation turns personal: Ruhn admits he does not want her to be the Hind, Day presses him about his status as a Fae prince and his public dance with Hypaxia, and Ruhn explains that his betrothal to Hypaxia is only political and carries no real romance.

That honesty breaks the tension between them, and Ruhn kisses Day. They respond to each other intensely, and Day touches his uncovered face while telling him that he makes her feel alive and reminds her that goodness can still exist. The moment ends abruptly when Day senses someone approaching on her side of the bridge, apparently the male who controls and abuses her, and she vanishes after a hurried apology, leaving Ruhn with proof of both her feelings and her peril.

Meanwhile, Bryce and Hunt return to Bryce’s apartment drunk after leaving the ball and continuing the night at a dive bar. As Hunt rubs Bryce’s feet, they joke about the party, Bryce’s victory over the Autumn King, and the fact that she has effectively made Hunt her prince; Hunt then admits that, despite everything, he loved being publicly claimed by her because Shahar never openly treated him as an equal partner. Their affection turns playful and then sexual, with Bryce inviting rougher intimacy and Hunt tying her hands lightly to the bedposts before they have sex.

During sex, both of their powers rise with their emotions: Bryce glows with starlight and Hunt’s lightning pours into the encounter as he fully gives in to the bond between them. At the moment of climax, Bryce’s power surges strongly enough to shift them out of the bedroom and onto the roof of the apartment building, with the city and distant party sounds suddenly around them. Hunt is stunned by the unexpected teleportation, while Bryce can only offer an embarrassed, amused “Oops.”