Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying, violence, cursing, illness, death, physical abuse, and emotional abuse.

Alex sneaks out of the Covenant, determined to destroy her mother. As she hunts for Rachelle, she hears footsteps and finds Caleb following her. She wants him to leave, but he refuses. Their argument is interrupted when Alex sees Rachelle at the end of an alley. 

Shocked to see her mother as a daimon, she hesitates. Caleb urges her to shoot, but another daimon grabs him by the throat. Alex struggles to summon the resolve to shoot Rachelle; her memories of their past hold her back. A sharp pain strikes her temple, and Alex loses consciousness.

Alex awakens in a room she remembers from childhood visits to Gatlinburg. Muffled screams lead her to Caleb, who is being tagged and drained by a daimon, Daniel. Alex charges at him, but another daimon, Eric, grabs and disarms her. He explains that Alex’s strong aether makes her irresistible. She fights back, but Eric repeatedly subdues her using air magic. Daniel joins the struggle, and they overpower her until Rachelle arrives.

Alex pleads for Caleb’s release, but Rachelle refuses, stating that she needs him as leverage.