Approaching Mars aboard the Dejah Thoris, Virginia wrestles with guilt over retreating from Mercury, Sevro’s capture, and Darrow’s fate. She notes Cassius’s unlikely return to service and surveys the amassed Martian defenses and Victra’s powerful fleet. Cimmeria lies ravaged after Volsung Fá’s seizure of Sefi’s forces, deepening Virginia’s sense of failure. Urged by Kavax to "show fang," Virginia decides to perform the Iron Circle to assert dominion.

Flying Pride Two without escort, Virginia completes the Iron Circle as vast lines of fire on the surface form a slingBlade, signaling Mars’s resolve. Landing at Agea amid crowds raising red-dipped fists, she meets Kieran, who invokes emergency authority to grant her total imperium and presents Darrow’s battered slingBlade. Virginia raises it to the people, uniting the planet behind the Sovereign and the Reaper’s legacy.

After debriefs, Virginia reunites with Pax in the garden where her father died; the embrace restores a part of her long-hollowed heart. Pax tells her he has sent Lyria in pursuit of Ragnar’s daughter, Volga. Visiting Victra’s estate at Hippolyte, they mourn Ulysses’s grave. Electra appears hardened and impatient, a reflection of the war’s toll.

In the training yard, Victra confronts Virginia with fury over Sevro’s capture and Darrow’s abandonment. Virginia reveals her scars, and the two forge a pact: if salvation is beyond reach, they will have vengeance. Their resolve is tested immediately when Pax rushes in with news—Earth has fallen to both Rim and Core; Cassius was right that Atalantia has bridged the divide.