Iris brings Draven’s sword to the Inkridden Tribune at dawn instead of taking it home, hoping to hide it safely after Enva sheltered her through the night. Helena, shaken by the bombing in the Green Quarter, tells Iris that fifty-three people were killed, many more were injured or missing, the chancellor is dying, and Dacre appeared completely untouched by the blast. When Tobias arrives with an urgent letter inviting Iris to tea at Ronald M. Kitt’s estate, Iris realizes Dacre has likely been operating from there and agrees to go alone, with Tobias only driving her.

That afternoon, Iris reaches the Kitt mansion and immediately senses that something is wrong. The estate is unnaturally still, the gates open only for her, and Mr. Kitt himself receives her while armed soldiers line the entrance and halls. The house has become a hidden military post, and Iris enters already fearing what Dacre has done with Roman.

In the parlor, Iris finds Dacre waiting at a tea table, with Roman standing silently against the wall. Dacre presses Iris about the bombing, asks why she ran from him at the Green Quarter, and questions whether she fears him. Iris answers carefully but refuses to flatter him, telling Dacre that his speech offered people a dream rather than truth and implying that her wartime reporting has shown her what he is capable of.

Dacre then returns to the real purpose of the meeting: he wants Iris to write for him. He accuses her of hypocrisy for refusing him while helping Enva, then argues that all divines are selfish and that Enva is a coward who hides behind mortals. Iris admits she is not devout and insists that she writes for no one but herself, but Dacre mocks her stance and warns her not to challenge him.

To force the issue, Dacre orders Roman to bring Iris’s typewriter and paper. Roman obeys, and his closeness makes the strain between them nearly unbearable, especially because they must continue pretending distance and hostility. When Iris still refuses, Dacre commands Roman to place her hands on the keys; before Roman can touch her, Iris does it herself. Realizing that yielding her hands may be the only way to survive this encounter, Iris finally looks at Dacre and says she is ready.