In a stark suite above storm-wrapped Agea, the Sovereign tests Darrow with a parable about fractured power. She demands to know why he disobeyed at the gala; Darrow answers that he exploited her public contradiction and weakness. Aja, the Protean Knight, looms nearby, and the Sovereign’s grandson, Lysander, arrives under Aja’s protective eye. Darrow’s glance away from Aja stings his pride, underscoring the peril.

Pressed on motive, Darrow claims survival rather than hatred for Cassius and denies acting for Virginia. Fitchner warns him to mind his tongue. When Darrow asks if he is under arrest, the Sovereign says he is there because she wills it. Calling his actions treason, she meets his audacity as he says she owes him an apology. She asserts she is the law; Darrow refutes that, revealing Lorn’s withdrawal stemmed from rejecting her overreach—news sharpened by the revelation that Lysander is Lorn’s grandson.

Darrow pivots to the Compact, arguing his duel’s death terms remain unfulfilled and demanding Cassius’s head. Fitchner recites the Knights’ purpose: preserve the Compact. The Sovereign refuses, so Darrow turns to leave, signaling a break.

The Sovereign counters by offering resources Augustus cannot, hinting at Virginia’s choice and promising command of her legions and an Olympic Knightship. Darrow rejects the offer as a bid to buy him. “If I can’t have you, no one can,” she says, summoning Stained enforcers to kill him. Darrow readies to fight, but Lysander intervenes, confessing admiration and warning that righteousness does not place him beyond the Sovereign’s power.

Smiling inwardly, Darrow lowers his blade and approaches. Seeking to bind him, the Sovereign proposes a game of naked truths: no weapons, no guards, and a wooden box. The stakes are absolute—if Darrow wins, he may ask anything; if she wins, likewise. She even vows to saw off Cassius’s head if he requests it. Rain pattering the glass, Darrow opens the box.