- Moravik's boyfriend, Cerdic, finds the injured Merlin sulking in his room. He takes care of Merlin's cut face and feeds him dinner.
- Merlin tells Cerdic everything he knows about the situation in the palace—and it's a lot. He now knows that Camlach is nervous about him possibly taking the throne from him.
- Cerdic wonders how the boy knows all these things; Merlin says he just KNOWS.
- Camlach is specifically worried that Merlin's father is a powerful person (a rival king, maybe?) and that he will one day return to marry Niniane—and then take the throne.
- Cerdic tells Merlin to keep his mouth shut about knowing all this stuff. He fears it could make the boy just a little dead if others heard him.
- Merlin tells Cerdic that he sometimes hears things that the servants say (it's not magic or demonic or anything like that, right?) and promises the servant he will stay out of the way.
- Merlin still wants to know who his dad really was. Cerdic pinky promises that he doesn't know.
- Cerdic tells Merlin that although he's been named after a falcon, he'd better act like a dove for a while, until he's strong enough. (Doves run away at the first sign of trouble; falcons fight.)
- Merlin promises and then spends the evening in the hypocaust under the house. He only hears Olwen singing a song.