Three days have passed since the venin attack on the military outpost of Athebyne, where Violet was nearly fatally stabbed by a poisoned blade and subsequently learned her older brother, Brennan, is alive and a key leader of the rebellion. She and the other survivors are recovering in Aretia, a town in the Tyrrendor Province near the kingdom of Navarre’s shared border with the kingdom of Poromiel. They are in Riorson House, a stone fortress belonging to Xaden’s family, thought to be uninhabited since the area was demolished during the rebellion six years prior.

Alongside Imogen and Bohdi, Violet eavesdrops on a meeting of the Assembly, which includes Brennan and Xaden. The Assembly discusses acquiring a mysterious luminary from Viscount Tecarus and expresses frustration with Xaden, who has supposedly refused his latest offer. Discussion shifts to a pressing issue: supplying the gryphon fliers of Poromiel with effective weaponry in the war against the venin. Violet is shocked to hear Brennan hypothesize they have approximately six months before they inevitably lose the war. If they hope to hold off the venin longer, they must send Violet and her peers back inside Basgiath, where they have access to weaponry they can smuggle out.