At the Crescendo, the Cabaretti stage abundance as proof of leadership. Giada places her hands against an enormous empty vessel and fills it with Halo in a burst of light. The display confirms the rumor that the family has found a new source, but it also exposes the truth Elspeth feared: Giada is not merely guarding the Font. The city intends to treat her body and power as the Font.
Ob Nixilis attacks before the celebration can become a new political order. His agents have infiltrated several families, Maestro killers move through the crowd and the Adversary's campaign turns rivalry into open war. Xander is murdered at his museum, Jetmir is wounded and every faction assumes another family has arranged the bloodshed. Ob Nixilis gains strength from a city too suspicious to coordinate against him.
Elspeth abandons her cover and takes Giada out of the Vantoleone. Jinnie demands the girl back in the language of safety, but Elspeth refuses to hand a person to those who value what she produces more than what she chooses. Vivien intervenes long enough for them to escape, and Giada actively chooses to leave by taking Elspeth's hand and guiding her through the backstage route, rather than waiting passively to be rescued.
The escape costs Elspeth her place among both the Maestros and Cabaretti. Returning to the museum for a weapon, she finds Xander's collection bloodied and his people convinced that she served the Adversary. She leaves with a heavy sword, Giada and Vivien as her only dependable allies. In a city organized around belonging, protecting Giada has made all three of them outsiders.