that although Lecanus cannot see the Empress, he is not deceived. After they leave, he confesses what he heard to Alixana, who quickly deduces that an assassination attempt is being made on her husband. They return to Lecanus's hut only to find him gone and his guards killed. A guard attempts to assassinate Alixana but is stopped by Crispin. Alixana tells Crispin to return to the boat with one of her two remaining loyal guards and asks him how he found a reason to live after having lost his family. She returns to Sarantium on a small boat with her remaining guard, discarding her royal robes, cutting her hair, and changing her appearance. Upon arriving in the docks, she disappears into the crowds, disguised as a whore. Emperor Valerius II is confronted by all three surviving Daleinoi children, including Styliane and Lecanus, in his personal passage between palaces, his guards having been bribed. He quickly deduces that they intend to kill him with Sarantine fire as revenge for the death of their father. He banters with them, trying to undermine each of them and their hold on the guards. He almost succeeds escaping, but is stabbed in the back by Leontes's secretary, Pertennius Eubulus - a man who hated the Emperor and Empress, perceiving them to be impious. Lecanus burns the Emperor's body along with the guards before allowing himself to be burned, taking the sole blame for the events. The city erupts in a riot. Leontes is quickly chosen as the new Emperor while Styliane claimed to have arrived too late to stop her brother after learning of his plans. A citywide search for the Empress is started, with guards going from house to house. Rustem, returning home late after treating many riot victims, finds Empress Alixana in his bedroom. She quickly reveals she knew his goal as a spy and asks his help in hiding her while revealing that she knew he had already refused orders to assassinate Queen Gisel. It is also revealed Alixana had already visited the doctor in disguise as a commoner with fertility problems, and Rustem had informed her that she was not barren - thus the imperial couple's failure to conceive an heir is due to the Emperor's sterility. Rustem helps save her life as she pretends to be a prostitute when the Saratine soldiers break into the doctor's home. After the soldiers