Violet and Xaden approach the Deverellian palace at sunset on Tairn and Sgaeyl, with Andarna ordered to stay behind for safety. Violet confirms the isle’s coastal cross-bolts point outward and notes Tairn’s discomfort from being severed from magic, though he minimizes it. They land in an orb-lit meadow before the open-air palace, and a guard cohort confronts them.

Xaden introduces himself as the Duke of Tyrrendor and pointedly calls Violet his consort to gain entry and protection, over Violet’s private protest. Refusing to disarm, they are escorted in while Tairn and Sgaeyl wait outside the palm-lined entrance. Inside a lavish outdoor dining hall, they find King Courtlyn presiding over a dais with Halden and Tecarus; Courtlyn appraises them coolly while twirling a jeweled dagger.

When pressed, Halden admits he offered Courtlyn a deal for use of Tecarus’s manor, sweetened with an artifact. Courtlyn suddenly stabs Halden’s hand with the dagger, calling the offer unforgivable: Halden broke his word. Xaden identifies the dagger as the Blade of Aretia, seized by Reginald during the Unification, and Courtlyn notes the broken word voided the bargain. Courtlyn hints at ransoming Halden and even jests about keeping Violet, prompting Tecarus’s discomfort.

Courtlyn summons his three white panthers—Shira, Shena, and Shora—and has covered dishes unveiled. Violet and Xaden realize the “dessert” is Captain Anna Winshire’s severed head; Courtlyn declares she was caught in his treasury with stolen items and a list in Halden’s handwriting. Halden argues they were reclaiming goods unjustly taken from Navarre over the last century; Courtlyn asserts the artifacts were lawfully bartered to Deverelli.

The court grows silent as the panthers feed, and guards close in. Violet quietly assesses Deverellian decrees, fearing Halden could face death for theft. Halden denounces Courtlyn and flips his section of the table into the dais void, escalating the crisis. Xaden cuts Halden off, declares Halden does not speak for them, and proposes a new agreement: reopen diplomacy and allow limited dragon and gryphon staging and hunting rights, offering Aretian riders’ compliance with Deverelli laws.

Pressed on fealty, Xaden answers bluntly that his loyalty is to Violet first, then Tyrrendor, and then Navarre when warranted. Courtlyn remains noncommittal. To salvage the negotiation and Halden’s life, Xaden begins to offer a valuable emerald-hilted item from his pack; Violet stops him, refusing to let him sacrifice it and volunteering to handle it herself.

Halden rants that only he speaks for Navarre and insults Xaden, blood soaking his bandage. Courtlyn, bored and offended, ends the parley with a decree: Tecarus may live, but the rest are to be killed. The scene closes with imminent violence as guards and panthers surround the dais while Tairn and Sgaeyl remain poised outside.