Oak joins Wren at a tense formal dinner, attempting to navigate her cold, defensive remoteness. He recalls how she betrayed him in the Court of Moths only to free unjustly imprisoned Folk, and his guilt over letting her be taken by Queen Annet. Determined to show trust, he drinks the black wine first; Wren follows his lead. They spar verbally about whether she has truly chosen to be queen and what she wants from him.

When Oak begins to confess genuine feelings, Wren cuts him off with a burst of unmaking magic that destroys part of the table, declaring she needs no protestations of love because love can be lost. She offers to remove the bridle if he agrees to stay with her forever; his hesitation answers for him. Oak proposes negotiating with Jude for more time, but Wren insists he cannot stop what's coming, hinting the High Court has already demanded his return.

Their exchange softens briefly into flirtation about her biting him in the past, before Wren orders him returned to the tower. Oak kisses her hand in farewell. Wren, looking haunted, confesses she is not the girl he knew—that the rage and emptiness inside Mellith is now all she is. Oak refuses to believe it.

As a parting message, Wren orders the guards to march Oak past the Great Hall, where Valen's body hangs displayed with his throat cut. Oak realizes Wren had Valen killed for torturing him—Hyacinthe must have reported it—and recognizes that Wren is becoming capable of the very cruelties that once terrified her.