Talasyn secretly escapes the royal palace using climbing gear and a carefully planned route that exploits gaps in the patrol schedules. Disguised under a gray hood, she navigates through bustling Eskaya, where citizens carry on with daily life despite news of the approaching Kesathese flotilla. She rents a small dugout airship and flies to Port Samout to observe the standoff firsthand.

From a clifftop vantage point, Talasyn uses a spyglass to survey the confrontation. The Dominion's Huktera fleet, led by Grand Magindam Elaryen Siuk aboard the flagship Parsua, has formed a defensive arrowhead formation off the coast. Opposite them, the Kesathese ironclads have stopped just beyond firing range, and behind them lurks the stormship Deliverance—now Alaric's flagship. When a copper-scaled dragon swoops toward the Kesathese ships, the lead ironclad fires amethyst void-magic bolts that wound the dragon, forcing it into the sea. Talasyn realizes that Alaric brought the stolen moth coracle's magic back to Kesath, where Enchanters extracted and weaponized it into void cannons.

Commodore Mathire broadcasts an ultimatum: Nenavar must send an envoy to discuss surrender before sunset, or face invasion. Alaric privately disapproves of Mathire's decision to fire on the dragon but cannot publicly challenge a veteran officer so early in his reign. Nenavar responds swiftly by sending Niamha Langsoune, the Daya of Catanduc, as envoy. Niamha warns Alaric that Nenavar will never submit to foreign rule and would destroy everything rather than let it fall to Kesath. She then presents Queen Urduja's counteroffer: a marriage between Alaric and the recently returned Lachis'ka, Alunsina Ivralis, which would give the Night Empire access to Nenavar's riches while preserving the Dominion's autonomy.

Stunned, Alaric consults his father Gaheris through the In-Between, a pocket dimension accessible via the Shadowgate that allows instantaneous communication. Gaheris, who still controls Alaric from behind the scenes as Regent, orders Alaric to accept the marriage, dismissing his son's reluctance and reminding him that Gaheris is the true architect of the empire. When Alaric makes a sarcastic remark, Gaheris forces him to prostrate himself and threatens consequences if he disobeys.

Back at the palace, Talasyn is summoned by Urduja and told of the marriage proposal. Talasyn erupts in fury, refusing to marry Alaric and begging Elagbi to intervene. Elagbi sympathizes but ultimately does not oppose his mother. Urduja methodically dismantles Talasyn's objections: fighting a war they cannot win would endanger not only Nenavar but also the hidden Sardovian refugees, and marrying Alaric would give Talasyn influence over where his forces go, protecting both the Dominion and Sardovia. Urduja reveals she had anticipated Kesath's approach and planned accordingly. Trapped by her earlier oath and the stakes involved, Talasyn reluctantly accepts the arrangement. Urduja encourages her, declaring that Nenavar has outlasted empires before and will outlast this one too.