Ascalon Palace buzzes with preparation as Aubrecht Lievelyn, High Prince of Mentendon, sails to Inys with a retinue of eight hundred for his betrothal to Queen Sabran. Ead, recovering from fever, resumes her duties while watching for the arrival of Chassar uq-Ispad, the Ersyri ambassador who secretly placed her at court years ago. As guests flood in—Earls Provincial, Hróthi representatives, knights-errant—Ead overhears Lady Igrain Crest and Lord Heath discussing the marriage and the urgent need for an heir. Ead begins to suspect that the Duke of Courtesy, Seyton Combe, may himself be the architect behind the cutthroat attacks on Sabran—not to kill her, but to frighten her into accepting Lievelyn and producing an heir quickly. She notes how each attempt seemed staged and botched, fitting Combe's manipulative style, and resolves to find proof.

Lievelyn arrives and is formally received in the Presence Chamber. He proves courteous, reserved, and handsome, and Sabran appears quietly taken with him. Chassar uq-Ispad enters as the Ersyri ambassador, and he and Ead exchange a discreet nod. After lance games in the tiltyard and an intimate scene in the Privy Chamber where Sabran asks Ead's opinion of Lievelyn—provoking jealousy from Roslain Crest—Ead is summoned to the Peaceweaver Terrace to meet Chassar privately.

The reunion is emotional. Chassar explains his long silence was ordered by the late Prioress, who wanted Ead to assimilate fully. He confirms the Priory's alarm at the Draconic stirrings and Fýredel's appearance, seeing them as signs the Nameless One may truly be awakening. Ead shares her suspicion about Combe and tells Chassar about Truyde utt Zeedeur's attempt to contact the East. They discuss Fýredel's ominous words about "the thousand years" and the Mother's mysterious lost years after defeating the Nameless One.

Chassar delivers grave news: the old Prioress has died, and Mita Yedanya has been elected as her successor. More painfully, Ead's mentor and dear friend Jondu has gone missing after searching for the legendary sword Ascalon in Inys and Perunta; she was carrying an important object but vanished without a trace. The new Prioress has commanded Ead to return to the Priory to take Jondu's place among the Red Damsels.

Ead is torn. Becoming a Red Damsel is her lifelong dream, but she has spent eight years cultivating Sabran's trust and believes the queen still needs her protection. She persuades Chassar to ask the Prioress for more time—until Sabran bears a daughter and the succession is secured. Chassar agrees to try, but warns Ead she must obey if the Prioress refuses, and cautions her not to lose sight of her true allegiance to the Mother and the Priory.