Kel and Conor enter Castellane in disguise amid Independence Day revelry, with Conor enjoying the belief that he is unguarded. They go to the Caravel, the pleasure house Kel once chose for them as nervous boys, where Domna Alys welcomes them and indicates that the private meeting Kel requested has been arranged.

In the salon, Joss Falconet gambles with Conor while courtesans, nobles, and wealthy patrons gather. Lupin Montfaucon arrives and needles Kel, while Antonetta Alleyne appears unexpectedly with Charlon Roverge and other young women. Kel worries that Charlon intends to take advantage of Antonetta, but she insists Charlon will protect her; Charlon privately tells Kel that Conor will not marry Antonetta and that Charlon hopes to console her afterward.

After Alys draws Conor away and gives Kel a signal, Kel slips upstairs to the Caravel library to meet Merren Asper, Alys's brother and an Academie student of chemistry, botany, and poisons. Kel asks about the poison that killed Dom Guion, fearing such a weapon could threaten Conor. Merren identifies it as cantarella, an old poison from the Empire, and agrees to prepare two doses of poison and two antidotes by Seaday.

Hadja interrupts to say Conor is waiting outside, forcing Kel to leave before finalizing all details. Outside, Kel finds no Conor and no horses; instead, a black carriage with blood-red wheels blocks his escape. Kel is seized, thrown inside, held at knifepoint by unseen occupants, and carried away into the night.

The chapter shifts to Lin in the Sault after Mariam's collapse. Lin reads to Mariam from Ashkari tales of Adassa, then reflects on her parents' deaths, Mayesh's refusal to raise Lin and Josit, her painful separation from her brother, and the childhood friendship with Mariam that began when Mariam shared her own losses. Lin also remembers realizing Mariam was chronically ill and deciding to become a physician in order to save her.

After Mariam falls asleep, Lin tells Chana that Mariam is dying despite every remedy Lin knows. Chana reveals that Mayesh did not oppose Lin's medical training; Chana only claimed he did because the Maharam would approve the request if it annoyed Mayesh. Chana explains the Maharam hates Mayesh because Mayesh opposed the exile of the Maharam's son Asher, who tried forbidden magic to raise his dead mother. Lin admits she would be tempted to use such magic to heal Mariam, and Chana warns that the Maharam would exile Lin just as readily.