Lin prepares for a Hill party with Mariam, who has fitted her in a dark silk gown originally made for a noblewoman. Lin feels exposed by the dress and insists on wearing a shawl, while Mariam wishes she could see the Hill’s glamour. Lin privately thinks Mariam is too kind for its cruelty.

Mariam then asks to read Lin’s forbidden books about magic. Mariam explains that because her life depends on Lin’s efforts, she wants to understand what is happening inside her rather than remain helpless. Before Lin can fully answer, Chana arrives with word that Oren Kandel has come from the Maharam and demands Lin’s immediate presence.

Oren escorts Lin through the Sault to the Shulamat, making Lin feel judged and exposed. Lin worries the summons may involve the Sanhedrin, Mayesh, or a challenge to her claim as the Goddess Returned. At the temple, she finds Maharam Benezar with a tattooed Rhadanite traveler, Amon Aron Benjudah, the Exilarch, who has come to test her claim.

Aron questions Lin coolly and dismisses Oren. After closely studying Lin, Aron says she is not the first person to claim to be the Goddess Returned, and that the Sanhedrin stayed away until Lin passes an initial test. Lin insists she needs advance notice because her patients’ lives come first; Aron challenges whether that duty outranks her duty to her people, and Lin answers that Ashkar law holds life above all else. Dismissed, Lin leaves shaken and resolves to do as much as possible for Mariam before the first test.

The scene shifts to Kel traveling by carriage with Conor, Falconet, Montfaucon, and Ciprian Cabrol to House Alleyne for Antonetta’s engagement celebration. Montfaucon theatrically mourns Raimon, while the others discuss Artal Gremont’s return, Conor’s refusal to marry Antonetta, and Lady Alleyne’s ambitions. Kel reacts sharply when Cabrol asks whether Antonetta resembles her mother, revealing his continued emotional investment.

At the Alleyne manor, Kel remembers Antonetta’s debut and her painful rejection of their childhood connection. Conor and Kel encounter Artal Gremont, who is crude, self-satisfied, and eager to revisit the Caravel despite his engagement. Gremont also mentions rumors that Elsabet Belmany may marry Floris of Gelstaadt. After Gremont leaves, the party’s musicians appear onstage, and Kel is shocked to recognize Jerrod, Merren, and Ji-An disguised in Alleyne livery.