Bryce takes Syrinx and runs to her apartment as demons begin to flood into the city. “Micah hadn’t just opened a portal to Hel in the Heart Gate. He’d opened one in every Gate. Every one of the seven quartz arches was a doorway to Hel” (716). After settling her pet at home, Bryce arms herself with Danika’s sword, a knife, and a few of Hunt’s guns. She battles her way through the Old Quarter to the Meadows—the section of the city where unprotected humans live. Meanwhile, the leaders at the Summit do nothing to help the city’s panicked mortal inhabitants, who all run to the nearest shelter.

Hunt and the others at the Summit are able to watch Bryce’s progress through the video feed. Bryce phones Jesiba, calling for backup at the Meadows, but the forces in the city are spread thin. Ithan volunteers to help Bryce even though Sabine commands her wolf pack to keep still.

All the shelters in the city are about to go into lockdown as Bryce and Ithan battle their way to refuge in the Meadows. Sandriel commands the members of the Summit to stay put. She says that the Asteri are sending the Asterian Guard as reinforcements.