Feyre wakes to a buzzing and discovers Alis’s true, bark-skinned form, realizing Tamlin’s glamours had hidden the Spring Court’s many faeries from her. In the bustling halls, Tamlin and Lucien explain that they concealed most residents so the human newcomer wouldn’t be terrified. The glamours never covered non–Spring Court creatures like the puca, naga, Suriel, or Attor.

Tamlin admits he glamoured Feyre during the Attor encounter to make her undetectable and warns that the blight is stirring again, freeing darker beings. He instructs Feyre to ignore any unsettling creature and promises brutal retaliation if she is harmed. Though worried, Feyre accepts his protection while noting he still keeps her at arm’s length from the conflict.

The next morning, Feyre finds a freshly severed High Fae head impaled on a garden statue. Lucien identifies a sigil behind the ear—a mountain with three stars—marking the Night Court. Tamlin deems it a taunting message and proof that enemies can slip past their defenses, yet insists it’s posturing, not a direct attack, and that he will keep her safe.

Shaken, Feyre contemplates faerie politics and the threat edging closer to the manor. She and Tamlin discuss Prythian’s former human slavery: he recalls being a child when his father sent slaves south, and Feyre asks if they were glad to leave. Tamlin’s tension reveals old scars; Feyre reassures him he is not his father. Overwhelmed by fear and history, she’s unable to paint that day.