President Wade opposes an order to open testing centers to find potential witches. V.P. Silver is resisting having his daughter Penelope trained as a witch. Alder puppets Wade to get her order signed. The members of the Bellweather Unit are on different academic tracks in War College. The trio meets the Imperatrix, in charge of protecting the witches' bloodlines. She's there because the matrimonial season is about to begin. Alder and the Imperatrix argue. Raelle can't get the mycelium to react on command. After Izadora leaves, the mycelium reaches out and attaches to Raelle. Izadora releases a sound that gets it to retreat. Instead of Adil, the Imperatrix wants Abigail to mate with Gregorio. Tally helps Penelope to re-create the seed that was in her hymn. Scylla and Anacostia get closer to the Kamarilla after becoming aware of Shane's contact Jack. They tail him when he leaves. Arguing with the Imperatrix, Raelle insults her in Mother Tongue, which she couldn't speak previously. Tally sees blood on her blade during combat class where none exists. The mycelium has colonized Raelle's larnyx. enabling her to produce a multi-layered sound. She breaks down a wall with the mycelium. Raelle gets to skip the Paragon Reception for a weapons test. Abigail gets inspired by the story of her ancestor. She stands up Tally at the reception. Alder tells Raelle she's never seen anyone do what Raelle can do. Anacostia rescues Scylla from Jack. Gregorio acts as Tally's wingman at the reception. Raelle excels at her weapons test, wowwing the dignitaries in attendance. Tally has a vision of Alder committing a war crime. Tally tells Raelle that Abigail blew off the reception. Abigail tries to duplicate her ancestor's feat of controlling the weather but it nearly kills her.