Kamran returns through the marble halls of the palace furious and unsettled, carrying Alizeh’s handkerchief after the street attack. His minister, Hazan, follows and harshly rebukes him for exposing his identity in public while unguarded, arguing that Kamran acted recklessly over two commoners whose conflict did not require royal intervention.

Kamran resists Hazan’s criticism because he believes the attack was not as simple as it looked. Although Hazan sees the starving boy and the servant girl as insignificant, Kamran insists the situation felt suspicious. The exchange reveals Kamran’s dependence on anger after his father’s death, his difficulty ignoring suffering beneath his station, and the unusually blunt trust between Kamran and Hazan.

Kamran’s thoughts drift to Ardunia’s broader crisis. The empire is powerful but increasingly short on water, dependent on qanats, rain catchments, and dangerous routes to the Mashti River because neighboring Tulan blocks the most efficient access. Tensions with Tulan, recent spy activity, and Kamran’s disturbing military experiences have left him anxious, restless, and convinced that war may be approaching.

Hazan brings Kamran back to the present and reveals that the boy from the street is not yet dead. Hazan also tells Kamran that the king, Kamran’s grandfather, is waiting for him and likely expects him to perform royal duties now that the people know he has returned, including hosting a ball. Kamran reacts with irritation and tries to delay the meeting by saying he must bathe first.

Before leaving, Kamran gives Hazan the handkerchief and orders him to have it examined for blood. Kamran explains that the servant girl may be Jinn and that he does not trust her because she seemed too refined, disarmed the boy with startling skill, fled upon seeing Kamran, and appeared to recognize him despite her covered face. Hazan is skeptical but accepts the task of finding out who she is.

Kamran walks away still consumed by anger, unaware that grief and distress may be driving him as much as suspicion. So absorbed is he in violent thoughts that he does not hear his mother calling after him until it is too late.