In the weeks after the Cielcin capture, Hadrian attends dozens of Chantry interrogations. Unlike Uvanari's torture, most are simple questioning, with the prisoners isolated so their stories can be compared. Tanaran and others confirm Uvanari's account, and orbital forensics convince even skeptics that the Cielcin ship was not an invasion force.

Hadrian suffers under the strain and withdraws to his guarded suite, unsure whether the hoplites outside protect or police him. Anaïs and Dorian try to visit, but Hadrian keeps them away. When Valka returns from Calagah, she finds Hadrian exhausted, unkempt, and surrounded by drawings and debris.

Valka tells Hadrian that Anaïs is worried and considers him a hero for bringing the Cielcin in alive, but Hadrian angrily rejects the romantic idea of his ordeal. Hadrian explains the expedition, Uvanari, Tanaran, and his belief that the captives could become leverage for peace, though he avoids discussing his own role in the tunnel interrogation. Because Hadrian fears the room's surveillance, Valka uses her hidden neural lace to trigger a brownout and disable the cameras, revealing a forbidden machine implant that shocks Hadrian but gives them privacy.

Once they are unwatched, Hadrian tells Valka the full secret he has been holding back: the Cielcin came to Calagah to pray in the halls of the Quiet and may be searching for something connected to Quiet ruins. Valka doubts that the Quiet left useful technology, but Hadrian argues that the Cielcin may understand the ruins better because their species evolved among them. Their discussion is interrupted by a knock at the door.

Sir Olorin Milta arrives with a bottle of Jaddian zvanya, presenting the visit as friendly and social. After sharing drinks with Hadrian and Valka and looking through Hadrian's sketchbook, Olorin reveals his real purpose: Lady Kalima, Count Mataro, and Knight-Tribune Smythe have decided that Hadrian should speak to Uvanari alone, with monitoring but without further harm to the captain.

Hadrian is stunned because this is what Hadrian had wanted before the Chantry's brutal methods began, yet now the prospect horrifies him. Hadrian lashes out, explaining that Olorin does not understand the burden of hearing and translating the captives' suffering day after day. Valka steadies the moment with a Tavrosi saying about returning to where one began, and Hadrian finally agrees to speak with Uvanari.