In Gabriel’s bedchamber, Gabriel and Dior clashed over Dior’s plan to leave Aveléne to prevent others from dying for her. Gabriel insisted the fortress was the safest place and that Danton Voss’s ultimatum was a manipulation to force surrender without a fight. Dior countered that the defenders were families, not soldiers, and feared someone might betray her to save their loved ones.

As they argued, Gabriel sensed a pale, silverbell-scented presence outside the window—an apparition of a woman calling him “my lion.” He turned away from the vision and pressed Dior to accept the hard necessities of war, calling her the Holy Grail. Dior accused Gabriel of not truly believing that, and said his protectiveness stemmed from his own losses, not from faith or doctrine.

Dior revealed she overheard Gabriel and Aaron, and confronted him about Astrid and Patience. She asserted that Gabriel had lied—Astrid and Patience were not safely at home, but buried there. Dior said Gabriel’s drinking, disbelief, and mission to kill the Forever King all traced back to “the Worst Day.”

Torn between the accusing truth and the comforting phantom at the window, Gabriel’s fury peaked. He drew Ashdrinker and, amid pleas from the sword’s voice and the apparition, hurled the blade through the window, shattering the glass and dispelling the illusion. In the icy wind, he collapsed, recognizing the emptiness and the reality he had avoided.

Dior knelt beside Gabriel, took his hand, and told him she could not be a replacement for Astrid or Patience nor the reason others died, but she could be his friend and support. When Gabriel asked what else there was beyond sacrifice, Dior offered “a shoulder to cry on.” The chapter closed with Gabriel finally choosing to speak his grief.