Companion Serilla is stressed. In between complaining about Bingtown not being like she thought and consolidating her power, she is sitting in her study scared of assassins. We discuss her paranoia, power-hungry attitude, and how unhelpful she is being. Meanwhile, Ronica Vestrit has set herself up as an adversary to Serilla, trying to galvanize the city to fix itself and prove Davad's innocence.