After the male guvre's attack on the gathering at Briar's Peak, Trystan races through the devastation—stepping over bodies, some still groaning—until he finds his sister Clare. He pulls her into the shadows to safety. Clare is shaken, her dress torn, but she quickly composes herself and insists they find their father, Arthur.

Trystan demands to know why Clare is at the event; she explains their father invited her, and she in turn questions whether Trystan caused the attack. He denies it and is overwhelmed by a storm of emotions: worry for Evie and Clare, fury at whoever orchestrated the disaster, and deep anger toward King Benedict. When Blade sprints past, Trystan calls out to him. Blade, carrying a looped rope and drenched in sweat, explains he nearly caught the guvre but needs more height. Trystan introduces Clare as his sister—a rare disclosure, since almost no one at his organization knows his family connections or true identity.

Clare, displaying her knowledge and competence, recognizes that Blade needs a sleeping draught to subdue the guvre. She volunteers to prepare one from nearby herbs, needing only five minutes. Just as Clare and Blade move toward the shrubs, a familiar scream pierces the air—Sage's scream. Trystan is seized by the desperate need to reach her, but a sharp, debilitating pain slices through his head. He drops to his knees, vision darkening, his last image being of Sage waiting for him to save her, knowing he won't reach her in time.