Gabriel narrated that San Michon was nearly deserted after Khalid, Talon, and the silversaints departed at dawn for Avinbourg, and Greyhand led the initiates and a thousand soldiers toward Charinfel. Bitter at being left behind, Gabriel watched them go and spent four days restlessly haunting the monastery, shut out from visiting the imprisoned Aaron and Baptiste by Keeper Logan on Talon’s orders, while Prioress Charlotte alone tended their cells and Aaron’s sacrament.

Gabriel attended evening mass, avoiding Astrid, and failed to find solace in prayer or study. Frustrated by Archivist Adamo and consumed by anger, he obsessed over the crumpled parchment map taken in Coste, questioning whether Laure Voss had baited them. His fury erupted into a violent outburst in the barracks, leaving his hands bloodied. When his blood dripped onto the parchment, it activated a hidden message on the paper’s reverse through the same chymistry he and the sisters had encountered in the forbidden library.

The revealed quatrain read: “In justice and hope, no hope there be, In mercy and bliss, no bliss for thee, In death and truth, no truth I see, Through blood and fire, now dance with me.” Recognizing it as a secret from Laure Voss intended for the Forever King, Gabriel summoned Astrid and Chloe to the Great Library. He demonstrated the blood-activated text and argued that Laure had scouted along the Godsend and anticipated interception, planting a decoy map while hiding her true message in blood.

Initially stumped by the riddle, the trio connected its phrases to the named peaks of the Godsend—the “angels of the host.” Gabriel traced the great map: Justice and Hope, Mercy and Bliss, Death and Truth, and finally Blood and Fire (Mont Sanael and Mont Gabriel). He concluded that Laure had identified mountain passes and that Fabién Voss intended to drive his army over the mountains at the Twins, rather than around them to Avinbourg or striking Charinfel, using an undead host capable of withstanding the lethal winter.

Astrid and Chloe accepted the deduction and urged sending warnings. Gabriel agreed to dispatch riders to Empress Isabella and to Greyhand, but stressed that the Endless Legion was likely already moving and might reach the Twins before the Golden Host could pivot. He proposed acting immediately to hinder the crossing.

Despite Astrid’s objections that only Nightswatchmen and blacksmiths remained, Gabriel insisted they were not entirely alone, indicating that Aaron and Baptiste—still imprisoned beneath the Cathedral—could help. Resolute, he declared they would send word and then take what action they could themselves, and he set out to rouse Prioress Charlotte.