Emily Wilde and Ariadne continue their westward journey through Wendell’s realm by keeping strict watch: they sleep in shifts because sleeping unguarded in Faerie is dangerous.

They camp on the shore of a lake, where the sound of waves helps them rest despite unsettling signs—small lights dancing on the water and distant, reptilian groans from the depths.

Though neither feels hungry, they force themselves to eat some of Poe’s rich bread. After finishing the water they carried, they reluctantly begin drinking from creeks and streams, which Emily notes may have faerie-like effects on mortals in some tales.

While Ariadne watches, Emily begins “hypothesizing” about Wendell’s collapse by sawing a tiny sliver from the faun’s horn they carry. Emily grinds the fragment into a fine, odorless reddish-brown powder and considers how easily it could be concealed in wine.

Emily proposes that the horn powder could be the poison used on Wendell: in folklore, beings can be harmed by substances native to their own realm, and Wendell’s stepmother could readily obtain such material. Ariadne suggests the discovery might help Dr. Bambleby devise an antidote, and Emily—uncertain how—continues examining the horn, unsettled by an irrational urge to touch it.