Matthias talks with Jarl, who explains the drüskelle use jurda parem along with a sedative to control the Grisha. Because they still haven’t mastered the drug’s formula, they’ve allowed Yul-Bayur to live for “as long as he can be of service” (380).

Matthias wonders how long this Grisha prison has been at the White Palace, and Jarl tells him it’s existed for 15 years. Grisha sentenced to death are not truly executed but are imprisoned as the drüskelle attempt to control them; with jurda parem, the drüskelle have finally achieved that control. The Grisha, according to Jarl, are less than human: They are “born to be weapons […] to serve the soldiers of Djel” (381). Matthias questions whether Nina can truly be a monster when she worked so hard to free him from prison. He realizes he feels great pain at seeing her captured.

Matthias asks pointed questions of Jarl, learning Yul-Bayur is imprisoned with the Grisha and Jarl has the master key. He asks himself when he first knew the drüskelle’s mission was a lie and that the Grisha were not inherently evil. He hugs his former mentor, then turns the embrace into a stranglehold that renders Jarl unconscious.