Roman rides with Dacre and two officers to the Promontory, carrying the envelope Shane forced him to deliver. In a private waiting room, Dacre studies Roman closely and asks what he thinks of the night, whether Oath’s elites will support him, and how Roman’s meeting with Iris went. Roman answers carefully, sensing that Dacre expects Iris’s decision soon, and when Chancellor Verlice arrives to begin the event, Roman slips out after two soldiers disguised as guests.

In the Green Quarter courtyard, Roman searches the crowd for the man with the red anemone while trying not to attract the attention of Dacre’s planted soldiers. The gathering is full of wealthy, influential guests, and Roman feels the danger of what Shane has asked him to do. Then Roman sees Iris in a silver dress speaking with one of the disguised soldiers, and the sight of her overwhelms him so completely that he stops thinking about the handoff.

As the chancellor begins speaking and Dacre suddenly appears onstage, Roman realizes he has missed his chance to deliver the envelope. Remembering Shane’s order to leave the courtyard immediately, Roman opens the message himself and reads, A blast alone won’t do. You must sever the head. Roman understands that an attack is imminent, and because Iris is still in the crowd, he decides he must reach her and get her out before whatever is coming happens.

Roman pushes toward Iris, no longer caring who sees him, but a man stops him at gunpoint and forces him into the Promontory’s corridors. The man is Bruce, an associate of Roman’s father, who says Roman’s father sent him because the place is unsafe and Roman must go home. Roman resists and reveals that Iris, his wife, is still in the courtyard, but before Bruce can respond, a flash erupts through the windows and a deafening explosion blasts Roman off his feet.