In the dungeon beneath the Asteri’s palace, Hunt, Ruhn, and Baxian hang in chains, broken and bleeding. Rigelus arrives with Pollux and the Hawk, mocks their suffering, and questions Hunt about Bryce’s whereabouts. Ruhn refuses to cooperate, and Rigelus makes it clear he has other uses for Hunt besides finding Bryce.

Rigelus presents a pale quartz crystal and demands Hunt provide a “sliver” of his lightning for a private project, offering milder treatment in exchange. When Hunt refuses, Rigelus forces a choice: Baxian or Ruhn must die. Hunt reaches for his suppressed power, and Rigelus uses the crystal against Hunt’s forearm to cut and siphon lightning directly out of him, leaving Hunt reeling as the crystal fills like a charged battery.

Despite taking Hunt’s power, Rigelus decides punishment must follow Hunt’s initial defiance and tells Pollux and the Hawk to execute “two out of three,” leaving the selection to the executioners. As Rigelus departs, Hunt realizes the cruelty is designed to make him suffer alongside his “brothers,” not alone.

Lidia enters immediately after, sickened by the sight of Ruhn’s severed hand being displayed and by the brutality inflicted on all three prisoners. Maintaining her cover, she produces two firstlight-laced syringes and injects Hunt and Baxian so their wings will regrow, positioning them for escape. After driving Pollux and the Hawk out, Lidia drops the prisoners to the floor and tries to communicate urgently with Ruhn mind-to-mind about an extraction plan and the impending resurrection of the Harpy, but Ruhn remains shut down and unresponsive.

In Prythian, Bryce reels from Silene’s recorded account and rages at Silene and Helena for reopening the portal to save themselves, condemning their legacy as selfish. Azriel and Nesta conclude they must tell Rhysand, then press Bryce about the Horn; Nesta states the truth aloud—Bryce is the Horn, inked into her flesh, and thus the only one who can world-walk. Seeing Bryce as a danger, Azriel moves to fetch reinforcements, but Bryce draws on an ancient reservoir of raw Fae power stored in the Prison’s stone, stops Azriel by sealing the exit with rock, and reshapes the chamber like Silene once did.

Nesta and Azriel prepare to fight as the mountain trembles, warning that shifting the Prison risks opening its cells. Bryce insists she is not their enemy, but refuses to be taken to their High Lord, fearing imprisonment or mutilation. When Azriel attacks and Bryce tries to summon more stone defenses, she finds only emptiness beneath—and the ground collapses into a vast void, dropping them all.