Kai walks out of Paedyn’s burning house into the cloudy afternoon, smoke clinging to him as his Imperials stare in shock. The fire matches the turmoil inside him: it has been three days since his father’s murder, three days since he and Kitt became king and Enforcer, and three days for Paedyn to use the head start he gave her. Holding the dagger tied to his father’s death, Kai wrestles with grief, rage, betrayal, and the fact that his feelings for Paedyn still weaken him.

When Kai thinks he sees silver in the flames, an Imperial confirms it: Paedyn is on the roof. Kai orders his men to bring her to him, but Paedyn immediately flees across neighboring rooftops. As the Imperials fail to stop her from below, Kai joins the pursuit and realizes their powers are useless while she stays above them. To force her down, Kai throws a knife and slices through Paedyn’s thigh as she jumps, making her crash onto a flat roof. Although the injury leaves her bleeding and unable to make the next leap, she disappears before the Imperials can reach her.

Kai orders the city district of Loot searched, noting that he had already arranged for the streets to be nearly empty so Paedyn could not vanish into a crowd. While the Imperials split up, Kai checks the alleys himself and finds one of his soldiers collapsed in the shadows. A throwing knife is buried in the Imperial’s chest, confirming that Paedyn killed him during her escape.

The sight of the dead soldier shifts Kai from anger to exhausted reflection. He remembers burying Sadie during the Trial because he knew Paedyn could not bear to leave a body behind, and he thinks that Paedyn would have buried this Imperial too if she were not running from him. Acting on that thought, Kai closes the soldier’s eyes, lifts the body onto his shoulder, and decides to bury him himself. The chapter ends with Kai recognizing how profoundly Paedyn has changed him and wondering whether the next grave he digs will be hers.