In the aftermath of the fight at the ruined watchtower, Saoirse warns Dior to keep quiet while Bellamy and Père Rafa tend to Chloe Sauvage’s arm. Gabriel assesses Chloe’s bite as dangerous due to rot in the wretched’s mouths and retrieves spirits and kingshield to clean and stitch the wound despite Dior’s barbed remarks.

The group takes shelter inside the three-story, crumbling Sūdhaemi-built tower. Gabriel formally meets the companions: Bellamy Bouchette, a soothsinger; Père Rafa Sa-Araki, a Sūdhaemi priest and San Guillaume adept; Saoirse á Rígan, an Ossian slayer with her lioness Phoebe; and Dior Lachance, a sharp-tongued youth. Gabriel presses for who they are beyond names, focusing on Dior.

Gabriel reveals that Danton Voss came to Dhahaeth looking for Dior and would have sacked the town if not repelled. Saoirse says coldbloods have tracked them since Lashaame, and Gabriel explains Danton is the Forever King Fabién Voss’s youngest heir and relentless hunter. He demands to know what provoked such pursuit.

Chloe and Père Rafa claim the Grail prophecy is real: “From holy cup comes holy light…” and that the Grail can end Daysdeath and the Forever King’s dominion. Though Gabriel ridicules the idea, Chloe argues the Voss pursuit proves its importance. Saoirse states Dior knows where the Grail is; Dior tacitly acknowledges the possibility, and Chloe insists the Forever King knows Dior knows.

Privately, Chloe tells Gabriel she intends to lead the group to San Michon through the Nordlund, expecting Danton to return by night, and asks for his help. Gabriel balks at the danger and her plan, but their conversation turns when Chloe learns Gabriel is married and has a daughter, leading to a brief moment of shared joy and old camaraderie.

Chloe attempts to release Gabriel from obligation, but at the brink of parting, Gabriel decides to accompany them for a time, offering to see them to the Volta. Chloe, deeply relieved, embraces him and offers thanks to God. The chapter closes with Chloe asking the name of Gabriel’s daughter, and Gabriel revealing it is Patience.