Bryce forces open the frozen gates and urges Ember and Randall through, warning them that the Harpy is no longer herself but a necromantically raised weapon the Asteri made using Hunt’s stolen lightning. With the creature already killing guards, Bryce insists they go to the Northern Rift immediately. Hunt carries Ember into the air, while Bryce grabs Randall and teleports them, warning him it will be unpleasant.

Bryce and Randall arrive first at the center of the walled ring, and the repeated dizziness makes Randall vomit in the snow. As the mist coils around them, Bryce studies the massive quartz arch that surrounds the Rift and concludes the Asteri likely built it to contain or control the tear between worlds. Randall questions whether opening the Rift is wise, and Bryce admits it is not—but says it is the only plan she has.

Elsewhere, Ithan sneaks back into the wolves’ Den during a quiet seasonal lull and finds no public mourning for recent deaths—only party music, reflecting Sabine’s refusal to show weakness. Ithan approaches the gate guard, Perry Ravenscroft, and notes the bronze Embrace symbol she displays as a private sign of prayer and grief. When Perry tries to radio for help, Ithan stops her and asks for a chance to speak to the others, telling Perry he wants “a new future for the wolves.”

Perry’s message draws about a hundred wolves to the courtyard, and Ithan steps out from the shadows to face them despite immediate hostility. Before Amelie can physically attack him, Ithan claims their entire identity has been built on a lie and invokes Danika Fendyr’s suspicions and death to force the crowd to listen. Ithan explains the Asteri implanted a parasite that suppresses wolves’ inherent magic, leaving them only shifting and strength, and he demonstrates the truth by conjuring ice—elemental power unlocked after an antidote made by Hypaxia Enador.

Ithan adds what he learned about Secondlight and the Bone Quarter’s “meat grinder of souls,” offering Hypaxia as verification, and the crowd reacts to his new authority. He then reveals there is another Fendyr—Sigrid, Sabine’s late brother’s daughter—just as Sabine arrives and calls for Ithan’s death. Sigrid steps in beside Sabine, accompanied by the Astronomer, turning Ithan’s revelation into an immediate confrontation.