Hours after Pollux and the Hawk leave with Rigelus, Hunt remains chained in the Asteri dungeons with Ruhn and Baxian, dreading which captive the Asteri will kill next. Hunt notices an alarming change: despite their gorsian shackles, Hunt and Baxian’s wings are rapidly regrowing, and the itching is so intense it becomes another form of torture, suggesting their captors have engineered the healing for their own purposes.

Aidas appears to Hunt as a blue-eyed cat and speaks directly into Hunt’s mind. When Hunt questions whether the “cat” is truly Aidas or another Rigelus deception, Aidas proves his identity by recalling Bryce Quinlan meeting him outside the Oracle’s Temple when she was thirteen and his question about what blinds an Oracle. Hunt begs for news of Bryce, and Aidas says he is searching for her.

Hunt presses Aidas about why Rigelus wants Hunt’s lightning, explaining that Rigelus already extracted it into a crystal—like firstlight—and is still threatening to kill one of Hunt’s companions. Aidas guesses Rigelus wants the lightning for the same reason Sofie Renast’s lightning was hunted: to resurrect the dead. Hunt struggles to accept this, while Aidas confirms his information comes from demonic spies and personal investigation of troubling whispers across Midgard.

As Hunt questions why Rigelus did not simply pursue Sofie’s corpse, Aidas argues that Hunt, alive and controllable, was the easier weapon. Aidas grows more ominous, suggesting the Asteri may have finally learned “what Hunt’s father bred Hunt to be,” but refuses to explain, insisting survival and escape must come first. Aidas also admits he cannot physically intervene in the dungeons, describing this contact as more like a phone call than a true presence.

Aidas warns that if Rigelus can use Hunt’s lightning to raise the dead quickly and beyond traditional necromancy’s limits, the Asteri could build devastating armies. Before leaving, Aidas says he is sorry and reveals who will die tomorrow: the one whose death will hurt Hunt and Bryce most—Ruhn, the Fae Prince. Hunt tries to ask Aidas to pass a message to Bryce, but Aidas answers that he understands and vanishes.