Dalinar presses his coalition efforts as Teshav reads Azir’s final refusal: their Oathgate will be sealed and destroyed. He turns to Thaylenah, but while waiting he restlessly inspects Urithiru’s strange ventilation tunnels, mindful of Shallan’s report of a lurking killer. Queen Fen responds with a firm “no,” citing repeated Everstorms and the risk of admitting an Alethi force into her city.

Frustrated, Dalinar is summoned by Bridge Four to the site of Sadeas’s death. Leyten and Peet reveal a gouge on the wall and a sunk hilt between planters: Oathbringer. Dalinar retrieves the Blade, hearing a muted, pained echo from its dead spren; the Stormfather says it “remembers” Dalinar’s oath and surrender of it, hating him less than others. Dalinar decides the killer must have dropped it from a window and takes the weapon to Ialai.

In Ialai’s rooms—with Amaram present—Dalinar returns Oathbringer, denying responsibility for Sadeas’s murder. Amaram defends his own past killings as necessary pragmatism and brands Dalinar a hypocrite who now enjoys the luxury of morality. Dalinar vows to see Amaram judged after the crisis, then withdraws, stung by the accusation.

In his chambers, beside Navani’s heating fabrial, Dalinar and Taravangian debate how a king knows what is right. Dalinar quotes Nohadon’s parable of four suspected murderers: Taravangian would execute all to prevent further harm, while Dalinar recoils from harming an innocent. They note Nohadon’s recorded compromise—imprisoning all four—as an imperfect “other option.” Afterward, the Stormfather asserts Dalinar is not a hypocrite; Dalinar replies that hypocrisy can mark a person in the midst of change.

Seeking guidance, Dalinar requests to revisit a vision. The Stormfather reveals he can show visions to others and allow Dalinar to join them remotely, even across distances during a highstorm. Recognizing a solution to his diplomatic impasse, Dalinar resolves to use shared visions to meet and persuade the other monarchs—beginning with Queen Fen.