Ead and Linora are invited to sup with Queen Sabran in her Privy Chamber, joining the queen's close companions Roslain Crest and Katryen. The women discuss the miniature portrait of Prince Aubrecht of Mentendon, a marriage candidate. Sabran asks Ead's opinion, and Ead offers measured praise, comparing Ersyri men favorably. The queen notes they have rarely spoken despite Ead's eight years at court, and inquires about her ties to Ambassador uq-Ispad and her faith. Ead carefully professes devotion to the Six Virtues, concealing her true belief in the Mother.

Roslain asks Ead to tell the tale of the Saint and the Damsel as taught in the South. Ead begins with the orthodox version—the Nameless One's emergence from the Dreadmount, the terrorizing of Lasia, and Princess Cleolind's selection as a sacrifice. When Ead reaches the moment Sir Galian offers to fight the wyrm, she lets slip a detail from the Southern version: that Cleolind rejected the knight's conditional offer, insulted by his terms. Sabran immediately stops her and commands her to tell the rest as the Sanctarian does. Ead complies, finishing the approved tale in which Galian alone defeats the Nameless One and founds Inys. Internally, Ead reflects that the truth—that Cleolind, not Galian, banished the beast, and that an orange tree was involved—is suppressed in Inys.

Afterward, Sabran coolly dismisses her ladies. Linora scolds Ead for her lapse. In her room, Ead examines the book she took from Truyde utt Zeedeur, finding the name "Niclays" inscribed on a flyleaf, and recalls a Niclays Roos who once served at court and was expelled under mysterious circumstances. Ead reflects on her weakening siden—magical power drawn from the orange tree—which she uses to ward Sabran. She hides Truyde's book and her longbow in a ceiling alcove, writes a coded letter to Chassar reporting the latest assassination attempt, and then receives a summons: Seyton Combe's office wishes to question her the following morning. Ead braces herself for a sleepless night.

Meanwhile, Loth and Kit arrive at the port of Perchling, where they board the Rose Eternal, a massive Inysh warship captained by Gian Harlowe. The ship was a gift from the late Queen Rosarian. Harlowe, a blunt and practical captain of Carmentine descent, warns them that Yscalin has openly declared Draconic allegiance and that plague ravages the country. He tells them his crew will not go ashore—Loth and Kit must take a boat to the port city of Perunta alone, where an emissary will escort them to the Yscali court at Cárscaro. Harlowe advises them to avoid touching anyone, as the Draconic plague spreads through skin contact. The Rose Eternal prepares to set sail at dusk.