The narrative voice passively describes that the houndsmaster is sent away to be a messenger beyond the castle, and that his dogs are killed afterwards. The people in the castle are starving and will need to eat the dogs. The dogs are killed as humanely as possible by having their throats slit. It doesn't happen "on screen" and the description is not overly graphic but it could still be upsetting to some. It happens on page 40 and doesn't last very long.
A character makes a bargain with a creature to help her escape the castle. She sticks her finger in the crack where the creature lives and it bites off her finger knuckle by knuckle.
Saying yes, but not in the traditional ghost/demon sense. She is under the compulsion of a supernatural creature and not acting like herself/is unaware of her actions.