Emperor Valerius II is confronted by all three surviving Daleinoi children, including Styliane and Lecanus, in his personal passage between palaces, his guards having been bribed. He quickly deduces that they intend to kill him with Sarantine fire as revenge for the death of their father. He banters with them, trying to undermine each of them and their hold on the guards. He almost succeeds escaping, but is stabbed in the back by Leontes's secretary, Pertennius Eubulus - a man who hated the Emperor and Empress, perceiving them to be impious. Lecanus burns the Emperor's body along with the guards before allowing himself to be burned, taking the sole blame for the events.