After Jaxon leaves, Lia greets Grace from the hall. She teases her that Jaxon will brood forever if she doesn’t go after him, though it looks like she’s going to collapse. Grace lets Lia help her back to her room. She asks how Lia’s doing over Hudson’s loss. Her parents have been implying that Lia should go out with Jaxon now. Grace is shocked, wondering if Lia and Jaxon are romantically involved. Lia is against the idea, no matter what their families think. Grace analyzes their kiss and whether Jaxon wants to date Lia.

At Grace’s dorm room, Lia is abrupt with Macy. She asks if Grace wants some homemade tea, but Grace declines and goes to sleep instead. After Macy is asleep, Grace lies awake, wondering about the recent mysteries. She can’t shake Jaxon’s darkness, immunity to cold, not eating, super speed, and other strange attributes. She thinks about the stitches and decides to check under her bandage in the bathroom. She peels back her neck bandage to find “two perfectly round, perfectly spaced puncture marks” (263).