At dawn, the armed Unnbrish platoon confronts Violet's squad in the field camp. Tairn warns Violet that two full companies of cavalry are hidden in the surrounding hills, and Andarna notes with frustration that her family is not on this isle. The platoon captain, chosen for his ability to speak the common language, orders the squad to leave with their 'fire-breathers.' Violet and Xaden refuse, and when the dragons and gryphons emerge from the trees to surround the platoon, one soldier visibly wets himself—confirming these soldiers have never seen dragons before.

Xaden invokes Unnbrish law: defeating a fighter in combat earns entrance to court at the defeated opponent's rank. The captain reluctantly agrees to allow half the squad to enter the capital, insisting the dragons stay behind. Sgaeyl snaps at a soldier in defiance, and a compromise is reached—half may come. Violet, given command of the mission, selects Xaden as challenger, Aaric to represent Navarre, Cat for Poromiel, Dain for his language skills, and herself. She leaves Mira, Garrick, and the others behind with orders to burn everything if the group isn't back by nightfall.

The cavalry takes two hours to reach Eistol, the heavily fortified capital city built in terraced rings on a hilltop, each wall armed with cross-bolts that can pivot in multiple directions—a city clearly constructed to fight dragons. Tairn and Sgaeyl land on the third ring's wall, intimidating the cross-bolt crews into standing down. Violet dismounts carefully and follows the captain through stairways built inside the walls, marveling at the layered defenses her father's records never fully documented.

Inside the city, soldiers in green, blue, and silver leathers line the streets with increasing levels of armament as Violet's group moves inward toward the higher rings. Xaden and Violet stand back to back while waiting, keenly aware of their vulnerability without their bond. The silver-clad guards argue about whether to allow the outsiders closer to a primary temple, but the captain prevails. As they pass through the gate, Violet notices the emblem of Dunne—two crossed swords gripped by a claw—resembling Navarre's own sigils, hinting at a shared origin.

The group enters a plaza dominated by an enormous temple to the goddess Dunne. Six granite pillars are carved with symbols—Sword, Shield, Fire, Water, Claw, and Book—all tools of warfare. A towering effigy of Dunne stands beside the rightmost pillar, armed with sword and shield, dressed in robes and armor. As blue-robed temple attendants rise on the steps, Violet's attention is arrested: every single one of them has silver hair—not gray, not white, but distinctly silver.