Masada is a towering fortress cut into a cliff. Within its walls is a palace built by King Herod. As she approaches the fortress, Yael is wracked with remorse over betraying her friend. She spots Sia’s ghost everywhere and senses that its appearance is due to the child Yael is carrying.

The group climbs to Masada through a steep climb known as “the serpent’s path.” Yael finally meets Amram, cloaked and armored. Yael is struck by his maturity. Amram tells Yael that because Masada can only be approached through the desert and the serpent’s path, guarded by the Snake Gate, or through the mountains of Moab, people are safe here.

Yael is surprised to see a thriving settlement, including an orchard with olive trees, a marketplace, and plenty of water. The fighters and Zealots at Masada are dedicated to the charismatic leader Ben Ya’ir. There is also an auguratorium, the bird observatory former Roman occupiers built at Masada. The floor of the observatory is littered with bird bones, since the Romans used the bones for divining the future.

The day after Yael and her father are assigned a room in the fortress, a 13-year-old girl called

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