Ead is summoned to Combe's study, where the Principal Secretary informs her that she has been dismissed from her position as a Lady of the Bedchamber. Combe reveals that one of the Knights of the Body reported seeing Ead and Sabran in a state of undress together in the Great Bedchamber. He explains that Sabran must remarry to maintain the illusion of trying to produce an heir, and Ead's presence as a lover threatens that plan. Combe also reveals that he was the one who arranged Loth's exile, confirming Ead's suspicions.

When Combe orders a retainer to kill Ead, she instinctively fights back, dislocating the man's shoulder, and the last of her siden flares visibly in her hands. Combe reveals he had heard Lady Truyde's rumors of sorcery and witnessed Ead's skill during the ambush. He declares he knows she was placed at court by Ambassador Chassar as a spy, and orders her taken to a coach that would imprison her indefinitely. Ead accuses Combe of being the Cupbearer, but he denies it, claiming the Cupbearer is someone else close at hand.

Ead escapes the retainers by slipping out of her gown and climbing the Queen Tower via woodvines. She reaches the royal apartments but finds them guarded by retainers of the Duchess of Justice. Roslain tells Ead that Sabran has a fever and is under heavy protection. Before Ead can relay her warning about Combe, Knights of the Body arrive to arrest her. Ead flees through the palace, encountering the scullion Tallys, who helps her escape via a hidden servant stair.

Ead reaches Margret Beck's quarters, where Margret hides her under the bed when a Knight of the Body comes searching. After the knight departs, Margret provides Ead with a disguise, money for passage to Zeedeur, and her prized horse Valour. The two friends share an emotional farewell, and Ead escapes the palace on horseback under a hail of arrows.

Ead rides hard for six days through snow and sleet, avoiding the main roads. She arrives at Perchling, a coastal town devastated by a Draconic attack—its ships burned, its streets bloody, its war machines wrecked. On the beach, she meets Estina Melaugo, a pirate from the Rose Eternal, captained by Gian Harlowe. Melaugo agrees to take Ead and Valour across to Zeedeur in exchange for Margret's purse. After a brief sea voyage, Ead arrives in the Port of Zeedeur and sets off on the salt road toward the Ersyr, leaving the West and Sabran behind.