Iris dreams that she is back in the Revel Diner, watching her mother, Aster, work as if war and grief have not touched their lives. In the dream, a violin melody that always accompanies Aster prompts Iris to ask about it, and Aster explains that King Alzane once oversaw the burial of Dacre, Mir, Alva, Luz, and Enva and inspired a lullaby to sing the gods to sleep. Iris suggests that Enva may never have been buried and instead helped put the others to sleep while remaining hidden in Oath, and Aster hints the theory may hold some truth before the dream collapses in a storm.

Iris wakes because Roman is coughing badly in the dark. When Iris presses him, Roman admits that ever since his memories returned, he has struggled to breathe at night because of the gas, but he has hidden the problem from Dacre so Dacre will not realize his control over Roman is broken. Back in bed, Roman tells Iris that Dacre once took him to Luz’s grave, which leads them to reason that Luz had already been killed before Dacre arrived and that Mir and Alva may also be dead in their graves. Roman concludes that Enva is the most likely killer.

Unable to sleep after that revelation, Iris and Roman spend the rest of the night telling each other everything they have missed. Roman explains the keys, the doorways, the sulfur pools, the flute, and traveling on the eithral, while Iris fills in her own path to this point. As dawn nears and servants begin moving about the house, Roman gives Iris back her wedding band and also shares a rough map of a ley line in Oath, explaining that the enchanted doors may be opened with keys. Iris recognizes the value of the discovery, asks Roman to gather more such information if he can, and then slips away through the window, roof, trellis, garden, and brambles after a last passionate goodbye.

Roman rushes back to his room, coughing and trying to erase evidence of Iris’s visit. He notices that Iris has left behind her small bird book and decides to keep it with him as a reminder of her. When the house shakes, Roman goes downstairs and discovers that the Kitt home has been turned into a military headquarters: officers and soldiers fill the parlor, the war table is being installed, Mr. Kitt watches with approval, and Lieutenant Shane brings in Roman’s typewriter from the under realm. Then Dacre himself appears in the foyer, looks up at Roman, and reveals that he knows Mr. Kitt received his letter, signaling a direct and dangerous new phase in Dacre’s move against Oath.