In Rowin’s windowless, immaculate bedroom, Genevieve and the Familiar fox Umbra share a tense quiet while Rowin fetches Genevieve’s trunks. Genevieve bristles at the situation and the lack of mirrors, while noting the large bed that she vows not to share. Rowin returns with her bags, needling her about overpacking; their barbed exchange shifts when he offers to unlace her corset to help her change out of the cumbersome wedding gown.

Genevieve resists, assuming seduction, but Rowin clarifies boundaries: he will only touch her to protect her or if she asks, and he will not lie to spare her feelings. He presses the need for trust to survive the Hunt, warning that others will try to divide them. Genevieve admits past betrayal by Farrow has made her wary. Rowin frames their alliance as strategic: they must be on each other’s side above all else.

To bolster that trust, Rowin gives Genevieve a wedding gift: his onyx signet ring on a silver band that heats when someone who means her harm is near, growing hotter with proximity. Genevieve calls it ugly but accepts it, and they agree to “work together,” potentially acting romantic to win Favored, though Genevieve dismisses Knox’s prizes as meaningless compared to erasing memories. Rowin remains unreadable, and Genevieve changes into a nightgown in the en suite, reminding herself to accept the “husband” title for appearance’s sake with Knox.

When she returns, Rowin has changed into a tight black undershirt revealing inky, smoke-like markings on his arms and neck, and he has built a pillow barrier down the center of the enormous bed. They discuss whether Knox expects consummation; Rowin says there are no mirrors in bedrooms, he would sense any spying, and that Knox values emotional stakes more than physical proof. They settle into bed—for sleep only—while Umbra claims a pillow.

Genevieve dreams: she stands in a frozen lake in her wedding gown where Rowin appears and invites her to dance, thanking her for trusting him and invoking Farrow’s name. The signet ring begins to heat, and Rowin becomes Farrow, who cruelly declares she is “a fun time” but unworthy of marriage, then tears out her heart and shoves her through cracking ice. Genevieve wakes in a panic, sweating and disoriented, and notes Rowin sleeping at the bed’s edge under a pillow, while Umbra watches, alert.

Steadying herself, Genevieve reflects that Farrow was wrong—someone did marry her, though not as imagined. She forces back tears, recommits to the alliance and to the Hunt, and resolves not to leave until she wins.