At night in Sebarial’s warcamp, Shallan adopts her darkeyed persona, Veil, reveling in anonymity as she navigates a crowded market. After awkwardly overpaying a fruit vendor for directions, she sends Pattern to watch for followers and proceeds to a decrepit tenement on Nar Street.

Inside, a massive doorman guides Shallan down to a secret, well-appointed chamber beneath a false floor. There, the scarred, violet-eyed Mraize tests her nerve with a blowgun and pointed questions about Tyn. Shallan claims Tyn sent her as an intermediary after Jasnah’s death and argues her value rather than betraying Tyn’s location.

Intrigued, Mraize refrains from killing her and names himself. As Shallan studies strange trophies and a fabrial that gathers smoke, Mraize outlines a job: infiltrate Brightlord Amaram’s manor and discover his hidden secrets. He forbids harming Amaram and insists on absolute discretion. Shallan notes his Ghostblood signet, matching Jasnah’s sketches, and commits to the task.

Dismissed, she climbs out as Mraize’s final dart hisses past the ladder. On the street, Pattern warns that the carapace-masked woman from the meeting is tailing her. Shallan attempts Lightweaving on the move, realizes she needs a sketch, and hastily draws a stone wall.

Ducking into a doorway, she breathes out Stormlight, creating an illusory wall that blacks out all light; the tail passes by. When the Stormlight runs dry, the illusion dissolves and her disguise fades. Shallan returns to the mansion, shaken yet exhilarated, resolving to earn the Ghostbloods’ trust, infiltrate Amaram, and continue courting a Kholin alliance through Adolin.