Three

In the wreckage of the imperial ballroom—dragon damage, a gaping wall, and Zaal’s corpse—Kamran remains petrified by Cyrus’s magic while nobles whisper uselessly. Assessing the political fallout, Kamran resolves to repair the palace, endure mourning, be crowned, and wage war on Tulan, but first he must be freed from the spell.

The defense minister, Zahhak of House Ketab, forces through the crowd and announces Kamran’s death to claim temporary control and sue for peace. As Kamran reels at the betrayal and his isolation, a ruby dagger suddenly strikes his shoulder, its Diviner-forged edge severing the enchantment. He recognizes it as his mother’s blade.

Freed but ravaged, Kamran glimpses his altered face in shattered mirrors and realizes he is dying: blood loss, seared limbs, failing lungs. Zahhak instantly pivots, kneeling with the nobles when Kamran speaks and orders the nearest Diviner, then disperses the crowd with a command that nearly costs him his breath.

Collapsed beside his grandfather’s body, Kamran steels himself to live long enough to avenge his family. Omid Shekarzadeh, the street urchin whose theft began this chain of events, emerges. Omid reveals the Diviners gave him a single Sif cube and, defying Kamran’s protests, insists on using it to save Kamran’s life.