Iris begins the evening writing another unsent letter to Roman, overwhelmed by regret over the day they were separated. When Forest comes home, Iris tells him Roman's father visited and demanded answers. Over dinner, Forest reveals he has been searching for work, and Iris tells him Helena wants her and Attie to return to the front. That news sparks an argument, because Forest wants Iris safe at home while Iris believes her reporting still matters.

As the conversation deepens, Iris presses Forest about why he enlisted and what Dacre does to the people he takes. Forest says he fought for ordinary people, not for Enva, but he refuses medical help because no doctor could explain how he survived wounds that should have killed him. When Iris asks about Roman, Forest finally gives his harshest warning yet: Dacre keeps captives close, heals them, and strips away the attachments that might make them resist or escape. Forest tells Iris that Roman may not remember her for a long time, and the discussion ends with both siblings hurt and withdrawn.

Later that night, Iris dreams of her dead mother, Aster, sitting peacefully in the living room while forbidden violin music plays. The dream briefly offers comfort, but it collapses into horror when the radio melts away and Aster fades into smoke and ash. Forest wakes Iris from the nightmare the next morning, and their exchange is gentler. He gives Iris tea and a biscuit before she leaves for work, quietly apologizing for the fight.

On the way to the Tribune, Iris notices hostile graffiti asking, Where are you, Enva?, a sign of growing public anger and exhaustion with the war. Inside the newsroom, the staff are unnaturally silent. Helena shows Iris the front page of the Oath Gazette, where a new article by Roman C. Kitt announces that Dacre has saved wounded soldiers in Avalon Bluff and argues that there are two sides to the war. Iris is devastated to learn that Roman is alive, but the article makes it seem that Dacre has turned him into a public voice for the enemy.