Kamran wakes before dawn exhausted but mentally alert, unable to stop thinking about Alizeh. He knows King Zaal intends to have her killed because of the prophecy about a creature with ice in its veins, an adversary foretold to bring about the king’s demise. Kamran struggles to reconcile that terrifying childhood prophecy with the servant girl he met, and admits to himself that he went to Baz House partly to warn her to flee.

Kamran dresses without help and heads to speak with King Zaal. While crossing the palace grounds, Kamran notices an unusually large rush of servants carrying food, flowers, and supplies. The scale of the preparations makes Kamran realize that King Zaal has already set the ball in motion, meaning Kamran will soon be forced to choose a bride despite the king’s earlier suggestion that the matter might wait.

In King Zaal’s chambers, Kamran prepares to argue about the ball, but King Zaal immediately assumes Kamran has come to plead for Alizeh’s life. King Zaal refuses to reconsider and reveals that Alizeh is not an ordinary servant: she is the sole surviving heir to an ancient kingdom and, among her people, would be considered a queen. Kamran is shaken by the revelation and asks why King Zaal never told him such kingdoms existed.

King Zaal explains that these old lines do not pass by ordinary inheritance; their sovereigns are supposedly chosen and marked by ice in the veins. King Zaal argues that if Alizeh is found and claimed by discontented Jinn communities, she could become a revolutionary symbol powerful enough to shatter the Fire Accords and plunge Ardunia into war. Kamran counters that killing an innocent woman could create greater chaos and that the empire should address the dissatisfaction that makes rebellion possible.

The argument grows heated. Kamran challenges the morality and wisdom of ruling through unwilling obedience, while King Zaal insists that preventing catastrophic bloodshed matters more than abstract ideals. When Kamran rashly notes that Alizeh has royal blood, King Zaal erupts, seeing the comment as a tasteless joke about the being prophesied to cause his death. Kamran apologizes, but continues to plead for delay or exile instead of execution.

King Zaal rejects every alternative, insisting Alizeh cannot remain free because freedom would allow others to find and rally around her. Kamran recognizes that his own discovery of Alizeh has helped condemn her and feels grief and failure. King Zaal ends the discussion by declaring that Alizeh will be dealt with that night, Kamran will choose a wife the following night, and the matter will never be discussed again.