leave, Rustem allows Alixana to stay the night, finding her gone in the morning. That same night, Gisel summons Crispin and has him help her slip into the palace. Gisel manages to meet with Leontes, persuading him to see Styliane's role in the whole event and convincing him to take her as his new wife. In doing so, the new emperor will have a means of re-taking Batiara while minimizing bloodshed. Styliane is blinded and imprisoned on the same isle her brother had been on, while her remaining brother is found and executed. Based on information given to him by Alixana before her departure, Rustem realizes that he cannot return to Bassania or he will be killed by the King of Kings for his failure to assassinate Gisel. His family then arrives on his doorstep, accompanied by the soldier who first brought the doctor to Shirvan. Together, they decide that they will travel yet further west, to the peninsula of Esperana, and settle there. Leontes explains to Crispin that all images of Jad are to be destroyed and images of humans and Jad in sanctuaries are seen as blasphemy. Crispin is crushed by the news that his mosaic is to be destroyed, seeing it as a second death of his wife and daughters. He decides to finish the images of his daughters before they are destroyed anyway, and once they are complete, that it is time to return home. Crispin says goodbye to all his friends. He is summoned a final time by the new Empress Gisel, and is permitted to go visit Styliane before he leaves. Styliane asks Crispin to kill her, realizing life had nothing left for her in her current state and having already achieved her revenge. He refuses but leaves a dagger that Gisel had, knowingly, given him during their meeting. Shirin confronts Crispin before he leaves where she manages to get Crispin to indirectly indicate he has feelings for her and that she should perhaps eventually join him in Batiara. Upon arriving home, Crispin finds Martinian and royal couriers waiting for him. Gisel has greatly rewarded him with wealth, as she had originally promised if he were to successfully deliver her message to Emperor Valerius II. She has also sent him materials from Sarantium, such as high-quality glass and stones, needed to create a great mosaic, promising the work would be protected as long as