Celaena Sardothien returns to the glass castle as the King’s Champion, carrying a sack she presents before the King of Adarlan, Dorian, and Chaol. To prove Lord Nirall and his wife are dead, Celaena produces a severed head, Nirall’s seal ring, and a woman’s hand, maintaining a cold, theatrical manner that unsettles Dorian and keeps the king satisfied.

The king gives Celaena her next assignment: uncover and kill members of a rebel movement in Rifthold before they threaten his empire or interfere with his plans. He gives Celaena only one name, Archer Finn, a famous courtesan Celaena knew years ago from the Assassins’ Keep. Celaena hides her shock and secures a month to complete the mission, intending to discover whether Archer is truly involved and what the king’s “plans” might be.

After Celaena leaves, Dorian reflects uneasily on the brutality of his father’s orders and on Celaena’s changed behavior since becoming Champion. Her coldness makes Dorian wonder whether she ever cared for him or merely manipulated him into helping her secure the position.

Chaol follows Celaena to the castle sewer, where she dumps the sack of body parts. Chaol presses her for details about the Nirall mission, partly from duty and partly because he feared she had been captured or killed. His concern breaks through their guarded roles, and they embrace before returning to her rooms so Chaol can debrief her.

Later, alone with Fleetfoot after Chaol and Philippa have tended to practical matters, Celaena reveals the truth: she has not killed any of the king’s targets. Instead, she has offered each person exile, staged murders with clothing and seal rings, and used bodies from sick-houses as evidence. Archer’s public fame will make his death harder to fake, and Celaena realizes that her deception has become far more dangerous now that the king’s targets are tied to rebels in Rifthold. If the king learns the truth, he will destroy her.