Immediately after Saeris feeds from Kingfisher before the Sanasrothian Court, Kingfisher struggles to control the intense physical and euphoric effects of the bite. Ereth approaches Saeris to place the golden diadem on her head, but Kingfisher remains alert, warned by the quicksilver inside him to be patient and watchful.

Ereth uses the coronation moment to attempt an assassination, producing a silver needlelike blade meant to kill Saeris. Saeris begins to react, but Kingfisher reaches Ereth first, hurls Nimerelle, and cleaves the Lord of Midnight in two. At the same time, Taladaius kills three high bloods who move to help Ereth by boiling the blood in their veins, shocking the court with taboo magic.

As Ereth dies, Ereth calls Saeris cursed and claims the gods reject her. Kingfisher reveals the God-Bound tattoos marking his union with Saeris, arguing that the gods have safeguarded Saeris instead, but Ereth answers that they have different gods before crumbling to ash. When Zovena charges toward Nimerelle, Taladaius tackles Zovena before she can reach the sword.

Saeris then asserts her rule with formal edicts. Saeris commands all members of the Blood Court of Sanasroth to greet her on their knees, forbids them from harming, hindering, or killing Saeris, Kingfisher, or Saeris’s friends, and bans feeders enthralled to high bloods from being used for war, malice, or mayhem. Her command sends a shock wave through the hall, and because of the court’s curse, the vampires must obey.

Later, in Irrín, Kingfisher reports to Renfis and Lorreth, who both tease him about Saeris accidentally dosing him in front of the court. Despite their humor, Kingfisher remains anxious because Saeris is in Ammontraíeth without him, the plan feels fragile, and too much depends on Taladaius protecting Saeris, the royal decree holding, and Saeris finding vital information in Sanasroth’s libraries.

The conversation turns to Foley, their former brother-in-arms who became a vampire after Taladaius transformed him as a supposed mercy. Kingfisher believes Foley remains in Ammontraíeth and may still honor his old oath, while Renfis and Lorreth worry that centuries as a vampire may have changed him. They need Foley because his Alchemical knowledge may be essential for Saeris to unlock her power, defeat Belikon, and end the war. After Kingfisher reveals the God-Bound markings on his arms, Danya bursts into the tent and urgently summons the three males outside, warning that something is wrong.