As Din, Ana, Malo, and the wardens approach the High City, they find the aftermath of a fresh purge: armed Yarrow men lie dead along the road, and more bodies hang from the inner gates. Ana concludes that, with Darhi dead, Jari Pavitar and his faction have moved quickly to seize control. The sight confirms that the political struggle inside Yarrow has turned openly violent, but Ana insists that the group stay focused on exposing the larger plot.

At the palace, Pavitar meets them in armor and demands the recovered treasure. Ana insists that every chest be counted in front of the apparent Prince Camak and Prificto Kardas so nothing can be stolen or altered. The trunks are brought into the king’s hall, along with the foul-smelling crate containing the corpse Ana wants displayed. Inside, Yarrow women begin counting the treasure, Kardas nervously questions Ana’s scheme, and the group takes up tense positions while waiting for a signal from outside.

While Pavitar tries to frame Darhi as the obvious villain and paint the Empire as complicit, Malo hears the wardens’ whistles and confirms that Thelenai’s red rocket has been seen. With that signal in hand, Din tells Ana that her wider plan is in motion. Ana then secures the apparent prince’s agreement to hear her out by offering an oathcoin, asks Din to bring her lyres, and promises a song that will perform a miracle by making the dead man speak.

Ana begins by telling a sensational story about the corpse. She claims the dead man is not truly imperial but Yarrow-born, a hidden son of the late king and therefore a half brother to Prince Camak. Ana says this man, known as Sunus Pyktis, was secretly sent into the Empire to infiltrate the Shroud, become an augur, and someday destroy it; after failing there, Ana says, Pyktis partnered with Darhi to build another weapon against the Shroud. Pavitar furiously denounces the story as lies, but the apparent prince allows Ana to continue.

Instead of a pleasant tune, Ana plays an abrasive, unstable rhythm on her lyres. The hall first hears eerie moans and then realizes the sounds are coming from the man on the throne, whose body begins trembling as he involuntarily taps out rhythms in obvious distress. When Ana has Din recite the rule that music and rhythm agitate augurs, Kardas understands the implication. Ana then states the chapter’s major revelation: the man sitting as Prince Camak is not the prince at all, but an augur—Sunus Pyktis himself.