Paedyn stares at the banner announcing her selection for the Purging Trials and realizes the city has effectively chosen her to die. A young red-haired Imperial approaches and tells Paedyn that King Edric has ordered her to the palace immediately, even though the Trials begin in two weeks, because contestants must attend training, interviews, and the opening ball. When the Imperial quietly gives Paedyn five minutes before departure, Paedyn runs straight to find Adena.

In Loot Alley, Paedyn embraces Adena and tells her she is being sent into the Trials. Adena is horrified because Paedyn has no real power and would be killed if anyone discovered she is an Ordinary. Paedyn insists she can survive, partly to calm Adena and partly to steady herself, and reflects that leaving may at least keep Adena safer. The moment shows how much the two depend on each other and how dangerous Paedyn's public fame has become.

Paedyn remembers how her father first explained her situation when she was five. After realizing Paedyn was an Ordinary, he taught her to pretend to be a Psychic because observation and practice could imitate that ability better than most others. This memory explains why Paedyn has been able to maintain her false identity for years and why she believes she was prepared for a life of deception and survival.

Adena makes Paedyn promise to come back, and the two part painfully as Paedyn returns to the waiting escort. In the coach to the palace, Paedyn meets two other contestants from the slums: Ace Elway, a proud and hostile Illusionist who wants the prize money to escape poverty, and Hera, a shy Veil who can disappear and reappear. When Hera asks about Paedyn's power, Paedyn repeats her lie that she is a Psychic whose mental ability helped her resist the Silencer. Ace dismisses Paedyn as a weak Mundane and says the crowds only want to watch her die, but Paedyn answers with defiance, showing she will meet the cruelty of the Trials with sharp resolve.