Celaena tells Dorian a limited version of what she told Chaol about the portal, the Wyrdmarks, and the creature from another world. Dorian admits his power is uncontrolled, and Celaena suggests that someone in the tomb might someday help him understand it. Their conversation becomes tender but not romantic, and Celaena recognizes in Dorian the possibility of the honorable court Nehemia once dreamed of.

In the council chamber, the King of Adarlan considers Chaol’s proposal to send Celaena to Wendlyn. Because Wendlyn bars Adarlanian men but permits women and children seeking refuge, Celaena can enter where soldiers cannot. The king sees the plan as ruthless and useful: it removes Celaena from Dorian, gives Adarlan a chance to strike Wendlyn, and proves Chaol’s political cunning.

The king reflects on wider threats and secrets. Perrington is away suppressing a hidden slave uprising in Calaculla, and the king wants help discovering who opened the portal the previous night. The king also thinks about Baba Yellowlegs’s unexplained death, the Ironteeth witches, and the wyverns he has been breeding in the Ferian Gap for future armies.

When Celaena is summoned, Chaol publicly explains that she is to assassinate Wendlyn’s king and heir, steal military plans, and help prepare Adarlan’s invasion. Celaena hides her shock and plays the part of the king’s loyal assassin, even agreeing when the king decides the murders should happen at Wendlyn’s Solstice ball. The king orders Celaena to leave the next day, despite Dorian’s protest that she needs more time.

Afterward, Celaena panics because leaving tomorrow gives her no clear way to protect Chaol, avoid killing Wendlyn’s royals, or continue Elena’s mission against the Wyrdkeys. Celaena goes to the tomb, where Mort lectures her about the portal and Elena appears despite the strain it costs her. Elena tells Celaena that Chaol is trying to save her by sending her near Doranelle, and that Celaena must go to Wendlyn for now.

Celaena asks whether Nehemia may have known and even arranged her own death to force events into motion, but Elena refuses to answer directly. Celaena understands enough from Elena’s silence to suspect the truth, yet Elena urges Celaena to set that knowledge aside because it does not change what must happen next. Celaena accepts the command and resolves to go to Wendlyn.