Aelin, disguised as Celaena Sardothien, leads Chaol in chains through the unnaturally quiet palace. Her father’s sword is hidden beneath her cloak, and the escorting guards do not search her because they believe the king’s Champion has returned early and remains loyal. Wyrdmarks drawn in Chaol’s blood cover Aelin beneath her clothes, meant to hide her heritage from the Valg among the guards.

As Aelin and Chaol enter the glass castle, the absence of court life and the fear of the servants show how deeply the palace has changed. Chaol maintains the appearance of a furious captive despite the devastation caused by seeing his men executed at the gates. The pair reaches the king’s council room, where the King of Adarlan waits on his throne with Dorian standing beside him.

The chapter briefly shifts to Dorian’s imprisoned consciousness. The faces of Aelin and Chaol stir buried recognition, but the Valg demon controlling Dorian dismisses the memories as meaningless human weakness. Dorian is unable to fully remember or respond to the people who once mattered to him.

Aelin kneels before the king and plays the part of his assassin, masking her eyes and hair to sustain the deception. She claims to have killed the King and Crown Prince of Wendlyn and presents forged seal rings as proof. While speaking, Aelin observes the king’s Valg corruption, his ring, Dorian’s unmoving state, and the council room’s painful history: Sorscha’s murder, Dorian’s enslavement, and Aelin’s own earlier bargain with the king under a false name.

The king questions why no news came from Wendlyn, where Aelin was during Narrok’s attack, and how Chaol came to be her prisoner. Aelin lies that Chaol was waiting at the docks and confessed his conspiracies. Although Aelin tries to buy time for the larger plan, the king reveals that he suspects her, ending the chapter by asking whether he should call her Champion or Aelin.