Paige prepares for the Bicentenary. Scion emissaries arrive, marking the establishment of Sheol II, the beginnings of a global Scion empire. In preparation for the fulfillment of their plans for rebellion, Paige and her fellow rebels have spiked the red-jackets’ wine to dull their responses and have arranged to evacuate all voyants to the train. David arrives to escort Paige to escort her to the celebration, but he is aware of the spiked wine, and she fears that he may betray the rebellion.

Inside the Guildhall, the rebels finalize their plans before they are set to be paraded before the Scion emissaries. In the grand hall, Paige confronts the Irish emissary about her cousin Finn’s arrest and threatens to hold him responsible if Finn has been executed. Nashira instructs Warden to watch Paige until Nashira can summon her, and this order confirms that she plans to kill Paige in public. Nashira addresses the crowd, proclaiming the virtues of the human/Rephaite alliance, and introduces the “second blood-sovereign” (402), possessed of an “ancient and terrible” dreamscape. The evening’s festivities begin.