After slitting Otto Warsen's throat, Evie stands covered in blood, gripping the enchanted dagger that pulses in her hand as if responding to her emotions. One of the two remaining knights charges at her, but before she can fight him, the other knight unexpectedly runs his sword through his comrade. This mysterious savior says nothing, studies Evie briefly, then mounts his horse and rides away without explanation.

Alone on the battlefield, Evie finds a torn strip of Trystan's shirt in the grass—a painful reminder that the king's forces have taken him. She fights back tears, consumed by the thought of Trystan imprisoned and reliving his worst memories. She vows that if they hurt him, she will destroy them. Looking down at Warsen's corpse, she smiles with cold resolve.

Evie returns to the manor and alerts the guards about what happened, maintaining her composure. She checks on Lyssa, who sleeps peacefully on Tatianna's extra bed clutching Blade's knit dragon. Once the door closes behind her in the hallway, Evie breaks down sobbing until only anger remains.

After bathing and changing, Evie moves forward with renewed purpose. She encounters Becky, who is shaken by Trystan's capture. For the first time, genuine respect passes between the two women as Evie promises to get him back. Evie reveals a cryptic first step in her plan: she needs Becky to "kill" her—a request Becky accepts with a wry grin, suggesting a scheme involving faking Evie's death. Meanwhile, Evie has Marvin mount Otto Warsen's severed head on the manor's opulent ceiling as a gruesome warning. As she descends to the dungeon, Evie silently vows to save The Villain—or become one trying.