Loth spends the morning writing summons to the Virtues Council. That afternoon, Sabran shares a letter from High Princess Ermuna of Mentendon, who demands justice for Lady Truyde's execution and blames Sabran for the abduction of Doctor Niclays Roos by pirates. Sabran acknowledges she should have pardoned Roos sooner and reports that Ermuna has agreed to search the Library of Ostendeur for records about Empress Mokwo's reign. Loth then reveals what Igrain Crest told him: that Sabran's mother committed adultery with Captain Gian Harlowe, meaning Sabran may not be a true Berethnet by blood. Sabran receives this news with resigned composure, admitting she always sensed her parents' coldness in private.

Lady Nelda Stillwater, the Duchess of Courage, arrives after being released from imprisonment, pledging loyalty and begging mercy for her granddaughter-in-law, Lady Roslain. Sabran assures her Roslain will be judged fairly. Stillwater also relays from Seyton Combe that Margret and Ead have arrived in Summerport. Sabran and Loth discuss Combe's trustworthiness, with Loth choosing to forgive Combe despite past wrongs.

When Ead and Margret arrive at court, they present Aralaq, the ichneumon descended from Cleolind's legendary mount, who pledges fealty to Sabran before the awed court. Inside the Council Chamber, Ead reports that they found Ascalon but that Kalyba stole it. She then proposes a radical course of action: Sabran should repeal the proclamation branding other faiths as heresies, reach out to Lasia and the Ersyr, and—most controversially—seek an unprecedented alliance with the Eastern dragons and their peoples. Loth initially protests, but Margret and Ead argue that the Eastern dragons are fundamentally different from the Draconic enemy and that cooperation is essential. Sabran agrees to present the proposal to the Virtues Council.

Alone in the Privy Garden at night, Sabran and Ead discuss the implications of an Eastern alliance, including the possibility that marriage may be required to seal it. Ead urges Sabran to try forging an alliance without marriage, though she concedes Sabran should reconsider if needed. Sabran insists it is Ead she wants and envisions a future together after defeating the Nameless One, citing a historical precedent of a queen who abdicated to live with her Lady of the Bedchamber. Finally, Sabran presses Ead about what she and Margret withheld. Ead reveals the truth about Kalyba—that she is the true ancestral mother of the Berethnet line—a secret Ead feels she owes Sabran after years of lies.