Dorian is summoned to breakfast with the King of Adarlan and remains carefully restrained, knowing that his forbidden magic and connection to Celaena make him vulnerable in a castle full of spies. The king orders Dorian to spend the day with Aedion Ashryver, presenting it as a useful acquaintance while criticizing Dorian’s recent companions.

Dorian questions why the king keeps Aedion alive and elevated instead of destroying him. The king reveals that Aedion’s rage is useful because Aedion’s fear for Terrasen’s civilians keeps potential rebellions contained; if Aedion defies the empire, his own people will suffer first. The king also hints that he has further means of controlling Aedion if necessary.

Later, Dorian escorts Aedion through the palace gardens because Aedion refuses every other diversion. Aedion mostly ignores Dorian, but when the guards briefly lose sight of them, Aedion trips Dorian into a thornbush, tearing Dorian’s cloak and cutting his hand. Dorian refuses to react, and Aedion’s parting warning to get the wound treated leaves Dorian wondering whether the general is merely cruel or testing him as a potential ally or threat.

Dorian goes to the healers’ catacombs, where a young healer named Sorscha tends his cuts. Dorian realizes Sorscha has treated him, Chaol, Celaena, and Fleetfoot through many suspicious injuries, including incidents that could expose their secrets. Sorscha quietly admits that healers keep records but sometimes “forget” details, signaling that she has protected him by omission.

The point of view shifts to Sorscha after Dorian leaves. Sorscha reflects that Dorian does not remember her despite her long service in the southern wing, and she recalls piecing together Celaena’s identity, Celaena’s relationships with Dorian and Chaol, and the group’s unexplained wounds. Sorscha values her invisibility because it lets her keep dangerous secrets, but she also reveals that she has loved Dorian in silence since first seeing him six years earlier.