After the Guardian points to Odessa, the court erupts: Margot protests, Mae growls, and General Banner reminds all that Odessa is his fiancée. The Guardian laughs, drawing Odessa’s ire, while King Roan silences the room and offers to wed Mae to Prince Zavier immediately to fulfill the Shield of Sparrows.

Odessa gauges reactions: Zavier remains impassive, the Voster priests detached, Banner lethal, Margot and Mae furious with Odessa, and the Guardian smirking. Banner declares Odessa is his, but the Guardian states she will now belong to Zavier, satisfying both a bride prize and the treaty, even calling her their future queen.

King Roan insists the treaty allows him to choose the daughter and designates Mae, offering gold for the marroweels. The Voster emissary agrees about the Shield’s terms but warns there remains the bride prize. The hovering Voster priest declares Zavier slew seven female marroweels, invoking the Chain of Sevens, which grants a warrior a prize of their choosing—a bride—when seven females are slain.

Roan disputes the count, claiming six, and Banner calls the Chain a legend, but the Guardian corrects him and says the request should have been more specific. At Odessa’s question, the Voster explain the Chain’s origin: ancient rulers decreed a prize for seven slain females of a species to break the chain of life; their magic sealed the pact.

When Roan rejects the Chain as myth, the levitating priest unleashes a chilling display of power: an icy wind, frost across the throne room, and dropping temperatures that nearly freeze the court, demonstrating the reality and force of old magic. Zavier and the Guardian exchange a warning look while the Turans endure the cold.

The Voster identifies himself as the High Priest who sealed the Sevens with his own magic and ancient kings’ blood, forcing Roan to bow and apologize. The High Priest then confirms Odessa is Roan’s daughter and declares she will be Prince Zavier’s bride under both the Shield of Sparrows and the Chain of Sevens.