Having captured Elgar and tied him to a chair, still unconscious, the small group plans their next move. Spindle wants to kill Elgar, but the Duchess refuses to execute him without a trial. She insists that they must maintain the rule of law. Instead, Joshua places Elgar in a special prison cell meant to contain wizards. Then, the Duchess asks Joshua to gather all the loyal guards who remain in the palace, and together they will confront and arrest Oberon.

While Joshua leaves, the Duchess’s second personal guard, Harold, remains with them. While they wait, Mona wanders through Gildaen’s quarters and finds an old book called Spiraling Shadows: Reflections on the Use of Magic. It is about magical theory, including the concept of sympathy, which Gildaen had told her about. The book also discusses the idea of bringing inanimate objects to life, as Mona does with the gingerbread man, giving her new ideas about what she could do with her magic. The Duchess allows Mona to keep the book. Finally, Joshua returns.