In Apollo’s warroom, Mustang and Darrow debate trust and strategy. Mustang urges a strike on the Jackal, but Darrow decides to surprise the Proctors instead by taking Jupiter, reasoning he needs more allies first. He orders the army to move despite a blizzard.

The march is brutal and clearly manipulated by the Proctors, but Darrow’s army presses on, raiding provisions en route. In four days they besiege Jupiter’s triple-walled castle, whose main force is stranded beyond a thawed river. Darrow promises prizes to the divisions that breach the fortress, and the outer defenses fall quickly. Still, there is no sign of the Jackal or overt Proctor interference.

On the third day, the starving garrison flies a white flag. Lucian, a timid Jupiter envoy, negotiates surrender on the condition his seven remain free. Darrow agrees and brings his forces inside ahead of a storm, while Mustang and Tactus continue scouting outside. He rewards veterans with beds, feeds the defenders, and reflects on Eo’s absence.

Darrow orchestrates a ruse: he orders wine, makes a spectacle of disciplining Pax by sending him on storm patrol, and has the camp appear drunk and lax. Spirits lift—Nyla sings and Sevro dozes—but weapons stay close. Darrow keeps Lucian talking, learning Mars is near defeat after a betrayal, raising urgency about Mars’s castle possibly falling.

When Mustang returns, uneasy at the scene, Darrow sends her to find Pax, then resumes probing Lucian. Finally, he dumps a bag of fallen students’ rings, noting every House but Pluto. Watching Lucian’s change in demeanor, Darrow identifies the missing Pluto—implying Lucian’s true allegiance—and quietly says, “Oh, there’s one,” revealing his trap and setting the stage for confronting the Jackal.