Kamran returns to the royal palace, which is built into Narenj Canyon, and finds King Zaal waiting for him on the drawbridge. As they look down at the shallow river, Kamran worries about the lack of rain and the empire’s cisterns, while the king quietly confirms that this concern is appropriate.

The bridge draws Kamran into a traumatic memory from seven years earlier. When Kamran was eleven, he waited there for his father’s return from Tulan, only to open the carriage and find his father’s severed, bloody head on a silver plate. Overcome with grief, Kamran threw himself into the icy river, and King Zaal rescued him, with Diviners later reviving him.

Back in the present, King Zaal tells Kamran that he understands why Kamran publicly saved the street child, but he does not understand Kamran’s fixation on Alizeh. The king has heard reports of Kamran’s behavior at Baz House and questions whether Alizeh deliberately arranged her dismissal to escape the search of her room. Kamran defends his actions as practical, insisting that he only tried to keep Alizeh belowstairs long enough to complete his mission, but the king sees Kamran’s pause as proof that Alizeh has compromised his judgment.

The argument sharpens as King Zaal accuses Kamran of being weakened by Alizeh’s beauty and influence. Kamran resents the insult and the king’s recent betrayal, but the king cuts him off and shifts to the more immediate danger: Cyrus, the young king of Tulan, will attend the ball, and his presence is a serious provocation even if it is not yet a declaration of war.

When King Zaal briefly falters physically, Kamran’s fear reveals how deeply he still loves his grandfather. The king then admits that after Kamran’s father was murdered, he made peace with Tulan for Kamran’s sake, delaying vengeance because he could not bear to cause Kamran more suffering or risk leaving him alone. Zaal confesses that this love has been his greatest weakness and warns that war is coming, leaving Kamran to face the burden Zaal tried to postpone.