Feyre spends the evening unsettled by what happened at the Tithe. She questions whether she truly burned the wood and whether she somehow slipped into Lucien’s mind, but she cannot dismiss either possibility. While helping Feyre get ready for bed, Alis comments on Feyre giving her jewels to the starving water-wraith. Alis explains that no other faerie would have dared help, that the water-wraith’s hunger will quickly consume the gift, and that the creature will now remain in Feyre’s debt. Alis also warns that word of Feyre’s kindness will spread among faeries who have known hunger.

Unable to sleep, Feyre goes to Tamlin’s study after midnight and finds him alone. Tamlin apologizes for the cruel things he said earlier, both to Feyre and to Lucien, and Feyre apologizes for snapping at him. Their exchange briefly softens the tension between them, and Tamlin offers her a wrapped present as a peace offering.

When Feyre opens the gift, she finds a traveling painting kit filled with brushes, charcoal, paper, and paints. Tamlin means it kindly, hoping she will paint again, but the sight of the bright colors reminds Feyre of blood, death, and what she endured Under the Mountain. She tries to pretend she likes the gift, yet the moment makes clear that Tamlin does not understand how deeply she has changed. When Feyre asks whether she would even be allowed to roam freely to paint, Tamlin’s silence confirms that guards and restrictions would still follow her.

That answer pushes Feyre into finally saying what she has been feeling: she cannot live under constant watch, and she wants the freedom to help and work beside Tamlin instead of being shut away. Tamlin refuses, arguing that strength did not save his own family from being murdered. In frustration, Feyre tells him to marry someone who can endure such confinement, then immediately insists she does want to marry him but feels as if she is drowning under his control. Instead of comforting her, Tamlin’s power explodes through the room, shattering windows, splintering furniture, and destroying the painting kit, leaving their fragile reconciliation in ruins.