Nina distracts the guard patrolling the silos so that the Wraith can begin her climb and set up the tightrope. Inej remembers learning how to walk the high wire during her childhood in her family’s carnival, and she imagines herself hovering on invisible wings as she makes the crossing.

At the second silo, the chemical that she uses to destroy the sugar releases a smell that triggers a flashback to her time at the Menagerie. A man wearing vanilla cologne saw her perform in her family’s carnival, and “his memory of her had tied her past and present together” (276), rendering her unable to dissociate from her body. Inej thinks about how she and Kaz both hide their trauma and decides it may be for the best that they go their separate ways so that they can “continue on with their armor intact” (276). As Inej moves to close the second silo’s hatch, someone seizes her and tries to push her inside.

Kaz and Wylan sneak into Van Eck’s mansion. Wylan’s explosives distract the guard, allowing the boys to sneak into the merchant’s office. Wylan uses acid to burn a hole through the door of his father’s safe, and Kaz pockets the merchant’s official seal, “a fat gold ring with an engraving of a red laurel and Van Eck’s initials” (282), plus a few stacks of cash as an added bonus.