Arvelle swims down and finds the wounded woman. The woman is still conscious. A kelpie attacks, but Arvelle liberates it, and it defends her from another attack and carries both women to the surface. The crowd erupts in cheers while the emperor forces Arvelle to bow. The kelpie deposits them on the platform. When Brenin tries to kill the unconscious Calena, Arvelle and Maeva stop him. Maeva reports their casualties: Titus, Sisenna, Placus, and Tolva. The emperor declares the survivors victorious, officially making them novices in training for the Praesidium Guard.

The Sundering Ball (a celebration for those who survived the Sundering) takes place that evening, and Bran confronts Arvelle. He states that Evren’s healing is underway and tells her that she will soon have the opportunity to kill the emperor. Maeva reveals that people are calling Arvelle “Kelindra’s daughter” due to her show of mercy. This is a dangerous title because it marks her as a rebel who has the people’s admiration. Arvelle feels cautious hope about her future with her brothers now that Evren is healed. Albion shows her a mural depicting various gods. Later, the woman whom Arvelle saved approaches and introduces herself as Calena; she is also a novice now. Arvelle sees Bran smiling at Calena.

In a rare show of affection, Leon tells Arvelle that Kassia would be proud of her. Tiernon asks Arvelle to dance. While dancing, he notices that her sigil has grown. He also vows to find the old Arvelle and discover who forced her into the Sundering. Before she can ask why he abandoned her, the emperor’s arrival interrupts them. Rorrik approaches and insists that Arvelle dance with him. He then reveals his awareness that she plans to kill his father; he explains that the emperor has just removed him as the heir apparent. Rorrik proposes helping her assassinate the emperor that night; he will lead her to a hiding spot and create a distraction for her escape. Desperate to reach her brothers, Arvelle agrees.

Rorrik leads Arvelle through palace corridors. When he pins her against a wall, taunting her about her mixture of fear and arousal, she demands that he promise not to punish her for the assassination. Rorrik makes a blood vow to this effect and then leads her to a room that he claims is the emperor’s. He shows her a hiding spot beneath the floorboards in a closet, gives her a pendant to silence her footsteps, and seals her inside the hidden space.

Arvelle waits for hours. She dozes and is awakened by someone entering and leaving the closet above her. After more time passes and the lights dim, she climbs out of the hiding spot and creeps toward the emperor’s bed.

Arvelle steels her nerve by recalling those the emperor has wronged, including Kassia. She slits the sleeping man’s throat and stabs him through the heart, confirming that he is dead. She finds a cloak to hide her bloodstained gown and discovers a gold bracelet bearing a familiar mark. When bells and shouts sound throughout the palace—Rorrik’s promised distraction—Arvelle flees. Guards pursue her through the palace grounds until Leon intercepts her, pulling her onto a horse and taking her safely back to his room at the ludus.

When Arvelle tells Leon that she killed the emperor, he reveals that the emperor is alive. Arvelle realizes that Rorrik used vampire powers to trick her into seeing the wrong person. Leon says that Nyrant has offered him a role training gladians and that he intends to stay and continue that work. Arvelle explains Bran’s entire plot, and Leon says that he already told Tiernon about Bran’s control over her; he vows to help her succeed by getting her membership in the Imperius so that she can access the emperor. He takes her bloody clothes to dispose of them.

On her way back to her quarters, Arvelle feels an oppressive sensation of being watched. Tiernon confronts her, jealous that she danced with Rorrik. Arvelle realizes that Tiernon is Rorrik’s brother and is therefore the emperor’s younger son. He confirms this, explaining that he kept his identity secret to protect them both. Arvelle bitterly recalls their past intimacy and concludes that he used her as a temporary escape from his life. Tiernon reveals that the man she murdered was Tiberius Cotta. Arvelle is horrified.

The morning after Tiberius’s assassination, Maeva wakes Arvelle, telling her that everyone has been called to the arena. All ludus personnel gather before the emperor, his sons, and the Sigilmarked Syndicate. The emperor announces Tiberius’s murder and blames a member of the Praesidium Guard for being away from his post, sentencing him to death.

Jorah tells Arvelle that Tiberius was his friend and helped him get his job; his devotion to the man deepens her guilt. Overcome, she flees to a bathroom and is sick. Rorrik confronts her there, mocking her for being so easily manipulated. He confirms that he used his power to make her see Tiberius as the emperor because he needed Tiberius dead. He taunts her about the pain that her actions have caused innocent people. When Rorrik goads her for not fighting back, Arvelle tells him he won. He persists until she coldly points out that he owes her payment for killing his enemy. He dismisses this and leaves. Arvelle returns to her quarters and finds that her whispering mirror has been shattered. She also realizes that her sigil has grown again.

Arvelle wakes, realizing that today is the sixth anniversary of Kassia’s death. When Leon and Albion are absent from training, she worries and searches for Leon. Jorah leads her to the Hall of the Gods, a shared worship space for sigilmarked, where Leon and Albion are both mourning their lost children. Albion tells Arvelle about his wife, Neara, who was destroyed by her desire to become a vampire. He says that Arvelle is not to blame for Kassia’s death. Arvelle sees Bran speaking with Calena and warns her away from him, but Calena rebuffs her.

In his room, Leon reiterates his plan for Arvelle to win a spot on the Imperius by playing cards for favors. They speak obliquely of Kassia, and he lets go of his long-held anger toward Arvelle.

That night, Arvelle joins Imperius members Micah, Deitra, Lucius, and Neris in a card game, intending to win enough “favors” in the game to manipulate her way into the Imperius. Tiernon joins, as does a cheerful Rorrik, with whom Arvelle reluctantly has a telepathic conversation. The group begins playing for favors. Rorrik tells Arvelle that he knows she wants a spot on the Imperius and offers to let her join if she can beat him at cards. Tiernon steps out momentarily, and Arvelle wins the final high-stakes round against Rorrik and Lucius. She then uses her favor from Rorrik to claim the novice spot on the Imperius. Rorrik grants it, overruling the others’ objections. When Tiernon returns, he feels betrayed, believing that Arvelle conspired with Rorrik. Neris reveals that the spot Arvelle just took was originally intended for Maeva, and Arvelle feels deep guilt. Tiernon orders Arvelle to accompany the Imperius to the chariot races at the Circus.

The Imperius arrives at the crowded Circus. As Arvelle notices extravagant gold statues and jewels adorning the track barrier, Tiernon remarks bitterly that the emperor has raised taxes again. Micah explains that Arvelle still needs Tiernon’s final approval for her Imperius position and must now train twice as hard. Arvelle joins Maeva, Kaeso, and Garet in the novice section. She confesses to Maeva that she took the Imperius spot (but not that it was meant for Maeva), and she also admits to having a complicated past with Tiernon. Maeva informs her that the other novices have moved into private quarters.

The chariot race begins. A red chariot crashes, spilling priceless jewels from a statue onto the track. Two drunken, desperate men from the audience run onto the track to steal the jewels. One is trampled to death, and a city warden shoots and kills the other. The crowd erupts in protest, chanting for an end to the taxes. The emperor signals the city wardens to begin burning protestors with fire enhanced by aether, a form of magical energy. A family with two young children—a son and a daughter—is targeted just rows below Arvelle.

Maeva explains that the wardens use aether to destroy basic shields. Arvelle, Maeva, and Kaeso leap down through the stands to save the targeted children while Garet hangs back in fear. Arvelle catches the young girl and passes her to Maeva and Kaeso. Leon uses his wind power to help save the boy just before the parents are incinerated by the wardens’ fire. Leon shields Arvelle from the blast. When Baldric and Hester laugh at the massacre, Maeva uses her power to obliterate the stone bench they are sitting on. Leon and Albion take the two orphaned children away to find them a safe home. Neris retrieves Arvelle, noting that she was lucky the emperor did not see her actions. The emperor continues watching the race, unbothered by the slaughter.

Tiernon confronts Arvelle about saving the children and then reveals that vampire and sigilmarked rebels have been planning to attack the emperor with aether grenades. The Imperius splits up to search. When Lucius mindpaths to Tiernon that a rebel has been spotted at a lower exit, Arvelle and Tiernon split up to flank him. The Imperius corners the vampire rebel, who pulls out an aether grenade. Arvelle screams a warning as Tiernon dives to shield her. A massive silvery-blue shield—a griffon ward—manifests, protecting the Imperius from the explosion. Tiernon realizes that the ward came from Arvelle, whose sigil is glowing. She realizes that she absorbed the power from Antigrus. Tiernon quickly instructs her to lower the shield before others see it, and Neris warns her never to reveal that power again.

The vampire rebel escapes in the confusion, infuriating the emperor and Rorrik . When Lucius takes the blame to protect Tiernon, the emperor orders Tiernon to kill Lucius. Tiernon begs for mercy, but Rorrik volunteers to kill Lucius himself. In a flash, Rorrik rips out Lucius’s heart.