In her grandmother’s hidden casting room, Rune Winters prepares for her party by enchanting a cup with Truth Teller, a blood-based Minora spell. With her own stored blood running low, Rune uses Verity’s blood to complete the spellmark, planning to use the cup to coax information from a suitor about where Seraphine Oakes is being held.

Verity argues that flirting with patriots and witch hunters is no longer enough to keep the Crimson Moth ahead of the Blood Guard, and presses Rune to marry strategically for steady access to intelligence. Rune resists the finality of marriage and the danger of binding herself to someone who can never know she is a witch, but admits she needs a better long-term tactic. They discuss potential candidates and the value of choosing someone connected to the Ministry or the Blood Guard.

Rune settles on a practical test: she will start by wooing Bartholomew Wentholt, get him drinking, and judge whether his information is worth committing to. As the party begins, Lizbeth alerts Rune that the guests have arrived, and Verity leaves to work with Alex on finding Seraphine’s holding location, urging Rune to “be like the mimic spider” by luring prey in and trapping them.

Downstairs in the ballroom, Rune endures Bart’s vain, dull conversation while trying to learn about his witch-hunter mother. Bart reveals his mother was honorably discharged after a witch injured her ankle, which ruins Bart’s usefulness as an intel source. Rune immediately pivots, deciding to pursue Noah Creed instead, since his father is the powerful Good Commander and his sister Laila is a witch hunter.

As Rune crosses the room to approach Noah, Gideon Sharpe intercepts her and addresses her publicly. He offers a crafted silk rose and apologizes for being unkind earlier, claiming exhaustion from a witch hunt. In the charged silence of the ballroom, Rune realizes Gideon is the missing, most tactical name on her list, and—accepting the heightened danger—Rune offers him her dance ribbon and asks Gideon to dance.