Kitt has shut himself inside his office for roughly two weeks, barely tracking time and neglecting basic care like shaving or leaving the room. Surrounded by crumpled pages and bitter notes, he sees how grief, exhaustion, and recent events have changed him into a harsher, emptier version of himself.

As Kitt reads over the angry words he has written, he connects this change to his father’s influence. Kitt thinks the late king always despised his kindness and would have preferred this more wounded, cruel version of him. That thought leads Kitt to compare himself with Kai, concluding that their father wanted Kai’s brutality and strength in a ruler and resented Kitt for lacking those qualities.

Kitt realizes this preference damaged both brothers differently: Father hated that Kai was not the heir, yet also hated that Kitt was not like Kai. When Kitt finally opens the curtains and looks out over the palace grounds toward the distant Scorches, his thoughts turn to Paedyn and to the fact that he sent Kai to find her.

Thinking about Paedyn overwhelms Kitt. He replays her deception, his father’s encouragement that he spend time with her, and Kai’s conflicted feelings while hunting her down. Unable to keep those thoughts contained, Kitt pulls out another page and writes about her again, framing her as both betrayal and sorrow, before admitting he is tired of writing only from the villain’s perspective.