Ithan tells Jesiba he intends to go to the wolves’ Den without an invitation to confess what happened to Sigrid and to argue that, even as a Reaper, Sigrid represents an alternative to Sabine’s rule. Jesiba forces him to keep working while she presses him on whether this is guilt or a genuine bid to change wolf politics.

Ithan explains that Hypaxia’s new antidote works and may grant powers beyond Sabine’s, citing his own emerging ice magic as proof. Jesiba warns the wolves will demand stronger evidence and may claim Bryce engineered Ithan’s “unnatural” changes, reminding him how poorly the wolves—including Ithan—have treated Bryce since Danika and the Pack died.

Seeking leverage, Ithan remembers Danika questioned the Fendyrs’ unchecked dominance and decides to retrieve Danika’s hidden research papers to prove his concerns aren’t just personal. Despite Jesiba’s warning that the wolves may still support Sabine and that the wolves have long served as the Asteri’s enforcers, Ithan insists the risk is worth taking and asks Jesiba to watch Hypaxia while he’s gone.

Ithan uses the House of Flame and Shadow’s sewer map to sneak to Bryce’s apartment, entering via the roof to avoid surveillance. He finds Danika’s papers still in the junk mail drawer, confirms their contents, and pockets them as potential proof to sway the Den.

In the empty, grieving hush of the city, Ithan lingers in the stale apartment, imagining Bryce and Hunt on the couch with Syrinx. Accepting that the old life may not return, Ithan looks toward Bryce’s bedroom and considers that he may not have to enter the Den completely unarmed.