Before dawn, Vis spars with Lanistia on Ulciscor’s estate. Lanistia, reading Vis’s movements with ease, states that Aequa Claudius is a spy. The conversation turns to Magnus Quartus Advenius Claudius’s offer of protection and his investigation into the Transvect attack. Lanistia explains Advenius’s rivalry with Ulciscor: the Anguis exposed an affair involving Advenius’s sister, costing Advenius the Censor position and fueling his belief that Ulciscor is linked to the Anguis—an accusation Lanistia dismisses as impossible for Ulciscor.

Vis defends inviting Aequa as a training benchmark and recent Academy perspective, despite Lanistia’s warnings about the risk to the Labyrinth’s secrecy. The exchange grows tense when Vis mentions Advenius’s suggestion that Caeror killed himself. Lanistia’s restraint slips; she emphatically declares that Caeror did not commit suicide and asserts that Veridius killed him and lied about it. She refuses details, insisting Vis should speak to Ulciscor for answers.

Lanistia then relays critical timing: Vis’s presentation to the Senate is confirmed for immediately after the Festival of Jovan. The plan is for Vis to meet Aequa for the festival, then remain with Ulciscor until the Senate convenes, with transport to Caten to be arranged soon. The spar resumes, closing the discussion.

Over the next three weeks, Vis buries himself in routine—training, study, and increasingly complex Labyrinth drills. His wound heals, his physique hardens, and his bracer control becomes precise; he seldom loses onyx stones even under sustained pressure. On the day before the festival, Lanistia acknowledges his progress and says he’ll be ready to run the Labyrinth while dynamically changing sections after he returns from Caten.

With the festival imminent and the Anguis deadline looming, Vis dresses for his journey to the naumachia, intending to leverage Advenius’s cover to reach his clandestine meeting while also bracing for the Senate appearance to follow.