Feyre wakes late, aching and marked by Tamlin’s bite. At lunch, she flaunts the bruise, forcing Tamlin and Lucien to acknowledge it. Tamlin coolly blames her disobedience for the consequence, and Feyre storms off, venting by painting pig caricatures of Tamlin and Lucien. That evening, they apologize; Tamlin brings white roses from his parents’ garden, and Feyre sleeps peacefully.

The next night, Alis dresses Feyre in a gold underdress and sheer turquoise gown. As Alis styles her hair, she reveals she came from the Summer Court to care for her sister’s orphaned boys after their parents were killed. Nervous but resolved, Feyre goes to dinner.

At the table, Lucien excuses himself, and Tamlin shrinks the long table to bring them close, revealing the effort and strain his magic now requires. They flirt, and after dinner Feyre leads Tamlin to her locked painting room to give him a gift: an impressionistic painting of the starlit glen. Tamlin studies other canvases as well, correctly identifying scenes from her mortal life—her bleak winter forest, the cottage at night, Isaac in a moment of intimacy, and the beating that broke her father’s leg—briefly revealing jealousy and deep understanding.

Tamlin chooses the cold forest painting and, when Feyre begs to help with the masks and blight, insists it is his burden and beyond her survival. Feyre offers to leave if she is a distraction, but Tamlin admits he wants her to stay so he can protect her and come home to her safety. He confesses he has had many lovers who never grasped his responsibilities, and that her work reminds him he is not alone. That night, Feyre does not lock her bedroom door.