After the disastrous training session with Nesta at Windhaven, Cassian looks for another task and asks Mor to winnow him to the human manor where Jurian, Vassa, and Lucien are based. He arrives already frustrated by Nesta’s deliberate defiance and by his own failure to help her. At the manor, Lucien warns Cassian that Eris is present, forcing Cassian to suppress his hatred of the Autumn Court heir and try to act diplomatically.

Inside, Cassian finds Eris with Vassa and Jurian and realizes they are already discussing a problem: several of Eris’s soldiers have vanished during a patrol, and Eris’s famed hounds lost their trail after detecting strange human-like scents. Cassian initially doubts humans could be responsible, but Jurian and Vassa push back, and the group begins considering whether someone is trying to provoke conflict between humans and Fae. As they talk, suspicion turns toward the human queens, especially because rumors say they are stirring across the sea again.

When Cassian asks which queen might act so boldly, Vassa names Briallyn. Cassian reacts visibly because Briallyn hates Nesta and would have reason to seek revenge. The others notice how strongly he responds, and Jurian urges the Night Court to send Azriel to investigate. The discussion then shifts from Briallyn alone to the possibility that she has far greater help behind her.

Vassa reveals that the force behind Briallyn may be Koschei, the ancient sorcerer who enslaved her. Cassian connects the name to the Bone Carver’s brother, learning that Koschei is a true immortal death-lord trapped at his lake by an old spell. Vassa explains that Koschei manipulates others from afar, seeks freedom above all else, and may be empowering Briallyn or guiding her actions. This turns the missing soldiers from a local mystery into a sign of a much larger threat.

Cassian leaves immediately to report back, but Eris follows him outside and admits he withheld crucial information. Eris says Beron has already allied himself with Briallyn, and the missing soldiers were his own men who accompanied Beron to her palace and returned changed before disappearing. Eris wants Cassian to share whatever the Night Court learns, arguing that Beron’s alliance could ignite a wider Fae war and warning that other powers might try to win Briallyn by handing over Nesta. Cassian is forced to accept that, however much he despises Eris, they may need to work together against Briallyn, Koschei, and Beron.