At ~2,500 words, this is the novel's finest preparation scene—transforming the ancient ritual of bridal adornment into something simultaneously intimate and martial, personal and civilizational. Sophonisba commands music in four languages, directs her physical preparation with military precision, accepts the father-daughter confrontation about what "sale" means, and finally positions herself on a balcony where Syphax will spend an entire procession watching her before reaching her. The chapter closes with absolute finality: "The weapon was ready. Now came the war."
Bridal preparation rituals in ancient Carthage involved multiple days of physical and spiritual readiness, overseen by priestesses and experienced women. The kithara (lyre) was played during formal ceremonies. The detailed observational studies mentioned (scholars documenting temple dances) reflect genuine ancient practice of assessing political figures. Tyrian purple dyes, cosmetic arts, and elaborate personal presentation were documented aspects of Carthaginian court life.
This chapter is unprecedented in preparation scene literature—it avoids spectacle by making tactical calculation the source of tension. The kithara sequence demonstrates mastery: she doesn't sing for beauty but for psychological positioning, transforming a wedding song into a military demonstration by rendering it in minor key and shifting between four languages. The "educated hands" detail reveals that even gesture is trained. The chapter's most profound moment comes through Eira's single real question—"And what will you feel?"—which makes the mask slip briefly, showing the cost. The father-daughter scene featuring Hasdrubal's crack ("dressing it up as honor doesn't change what it is") followed by his formal send-off as an act of love is extraordinary character work. The chapter's central thesis—"Feelings are luxuries I purchase with success"—retroactively enriches every later development in the novel. By the chapter's end, her final command about visual positioning shows that even the procession is orchestrated: she will be visible but inaccessible, elevated and watching, spending his entire approach making him want what he cannot yet touch.
"This is the novel's most precisely crafted chapter. The Kithara command—performing in four languages while demonstrating composure—isn't just beautiful, it's operationally brilliant. She shows Syphax (through her household that will gossip) exactly what he's purchasing: a queen who can speak to any ambassador, charm any foreign prince, understand any whispered conspiracy. By the time he reaches her, he's been hunting her mentally for hours."
— Reader 1
"The line "Feelings are luxuries I purchase with success. Today, I can only afford determination" might be the novel's finest. It reframes emotional life as economic—feelings aren't given, they're earned; not free, they must be paid for; not reliable, they depend on conditions she cannot currently control. Every moment of passion, grief, and connection later in the novel is purchased through winning."
— Reader 2
"The father-daughter confrontation is extraordinary: Hasdrubal finally says the true thing ("I'm trading you like grain futures"), she refuses sentiment entirely ("Not happily, but willingly"), and he responds by giving her the soldier's send-off rather than the father's grief. That formal distance is the truest act of love either can offer. "The weapon was ready. Now came the war" closes the chapter with absolute finality."
— Reader 3