Three days after the first Trial, Paedyn sits in the Bowl with the six other survivors while Tealah presents edited recordings of the fighting to a packed stadium. Paedyn remembers how the battle at the edge of the Whispers had continued even after sunrise, forcing Flashes and Brawnies to drag the contestants apart. She realizes the king likely stopped the fight only to preserve their anger for later Trials, making the coming rounds even bloodier.

The replay forces Paedyn to relive the forest ordeal in public. She watches her own hallucinations, Kai rushing to help her after she is wounded, and their private conversations while he stitches her up and while she later tends his injuries. The crowd responds eagerly to their closeness, and Paedyn is embarrassed when even their near-dance is shown. When she asks why Kai never warned her that Sights were nearby, Kai quietly says he was distracted. The footage shows Sadie’s death but not Kai burying her, and Paedyn understands that his act of mercy has remained hidden from the kingdom.

The final recordings also answer a question Paedyn had not been able to resolve: how Hera died. The crowd watches Braxton, already bleeding from Hera’s invisible attacks, grab her knife and stab forward blindly, killing Hera when she flickers back into view. After the replay ends, Tealah reminds the audience that their votes matter, and the citizens leave written choices in glass bowls by the exits. Seeing how much power the crowd holds makes Paedyn feel helpless, but she resolves that being Ordinary has not killed her yet and that she intends to stay alive.

Later, after dinner, Kitt catches up to Paedyn and leads her through unfamiliar palace corridors into the gardens. There he explains that he values her because most people around him want something, while Paedyn speaks to him honestly. When Kitt asks what she thinks of the Trial, Paedyn bluntly calls it a celebration of tragedy and condemns the Purging and the ongoing treatment of Ordinaries and the poor. Kitt argues that the Purging was necessary, but Paedyn presses him about the slums, segregation, and starving citizens. Kitt then asks why she avoids his eyes; Paedyn admits that he reminded her of someone from her past, but that the more she knows him, the less he seems like that person. Kitt asks her to look at him, and she agrees on the condition that he listens to her.

Kitt next asks why she reacted so strongly when Ace’s illusion made her believe Kitt was dead. Paedyn tells him that she saw the death of his potential along with him: the chance for him to become a better king and change Ilya. At the central fountain, Paedyn is disgusted by the heap of shillings tossed into the water while people in the slums go hungry. When she says the money could feed families, Kitt immediately promises to have it removed and distributed, honoring the agreement that he will listen if she keeps meeting his gaze. Their tense political conversation then gives way to playfulness when Kitt splashes her with water, Paedyn retaliates, and the two end the evening soaked and laughing together.