After Amren takes the Book away to work on it, Feyre sleeps through the day and later goes to the townhouse roof to catch the last sunlight. She finds Rhys there, drinking alone, and he shows her a box from the Summer Court containing three blood rubies, one for him, Feyre, and Amren. Rhys explains that the rubies are a formal declaration that Tarquin now wants them hunted and killed. Rhys is angry at himself because he believes he handled the theft poorly, especially by physically knocking out Tarquin’s guards instead of erasing their memories, and because he had hoped Tarquin might become both an ally and a friend.

Feyre tells Rhys that he should focus on stopping Hybern and neutralizing the Cauldron before worrying about repairing the damage with Tarquin. She recognizes that Rhys is willing to sacrifice his own desires and reputation to protect Velaris. When Rhys stays withdrawn, Feyre deliberately tries to provoke him out of his dark mood with teasing remarks about shopping for lingerie and even sending some to Tarquin. Their banter turns openly charged when Rhys admits he finds Feyre attractive and suggests they go to the shop together so he can help her choose what to send. Before the moment can go further, Azriel arrives, and Feyre leaves them alone.

Once she is by herself, Feyre realizes how close she and Rhys came to acting on their attraction. Through the bond, Rhys slips a vivid fantasy into her mind of what might have happened in the lingerie shop, and Feyre, flustered and angry, curses him, strengthens her mental shields, and takes a cold bath. Later that evening, she eats with Mor and tells her what Rhys did. Mor laughs uncontrollably and tells Feyre she should be proud, because it usually takes a miracle to drag Rhys out of a brooding mood.

Deep in the night, Feyre is awakened when the house groans and shakes as darkness pours from Rhys’s room. Recognizing his power and his distress through their bond, she runs to him and finds him trapped in a nightmare so intense that his magic floods the house. He does not respond when she calls his name, so Feyre climbs onto the bed, strikes him to wake him, and reaches for him through the bond. When Rhys finally reacts, he pins her to the bed with talons at her throat, still half lost in the dream.

Feyre stays calm and uses her own darkness, voice, and bond with him to soothe his power until he recognizes her and his shadows recede. In the moonlight, she sees that he is nearly shifted into his more monstrous form and realizes he stays in the townhouse so the others will not witness these episodes. Rhys admits that he has nightmares as often as Feyre does, but he refuses to describe the memories from Under the Mountain that cause them. Feyre promises not to tell the others, kisses his cheek in comfort, and leaves with a new understanding of his hidden suffering. As she returns to her room, Feyre feels that the emptiness inside her is finally beginning to heal.