Murdered prince. Hungry mermaids. Vengeful queen. Plentiful suspects. Dead assassin. Dying Black Cloak. So far this case is going to the devils. And it’s super great that absolutely everything is on the line. No pressure!

Phaedra wakes up in the morgue. Her lover, Nida, who does crime scene work with the Black Cloaks, brought here there for privacy after her attack. They discuss how to explain away the fact that she survived a Dracona dagger, since only Dracona should survive such an attack. She is part Dracona, and has little wings, but is not public about that.

While in the morgue, she notices that Freyal's body has slashes on the wrists, as if he had tried to commit suicide. She recalls when they got matching tattoos.

She discusses the case with her partner, Pax. They talk with a bunch of people who came in off the street because they're fascinated by the case, most of them whom just want to feel important by being involved. However, Romu and Iona, who were watching the Maids last issue, come back in to talk more. They saw the killer dump the body into the lagoon. He was floating and wearing a cloak.

When Phaedra goes home, she takes a key out of a hiding place. She knows someone is there. It's the Kiros Three, the three most powerful humans, one of whom would take over Kiros if the queen stepped down. They say they want to give her a lead.

After talking with them she tells Pax to meet her at The Trees.