Night falls with Kamran lying awake in his bed, restless and angry. Surrounded by rich furnishings he never chose, Kamran reflects that nearly everything in his life is inherited and burdened by expectation, while only his self-forged swords truly feel like his own.

Kamran considers how little he has ever desired. Wealth, food, possessions, conversation, and social admiration have always been too abundant to matter to him, and courtship has long repulsed him because eligible women pursue his rank, power, and fortune rather than him.

Because Kamran has never expected love or happiness, Kamran has accepted that duty, the king, and Kamran's mother will determine his future bride. This resignation is shattered by the realization that the only person Kamran has ever truly desired is now, in his mind, almost certainly dead.

Unable to sleep, Kamran drinks cold tea and stares at the moon near two in the morning. Kamran regrets not asking how the deed against the young woman would be carried out or when it would be done, because his ignorance leaves him trapped with worse imaginings.

Kamran's anxious vigil is interrupted by furious pounding at his door, ending the chapter at the moment when news or consequence may arrive.