The Tainted Cup

To excuse the delay in reporting, Fayazi claims to have recently realized that her father’s death was murder, not accidental contagion. Kaygi Haza died from a plant exploding his body; she acts angry that she was not previously informed that Blas and the Engineers died in the same way. She seems only mildly pacified when Vashta counters the danger of panic while leviathans approach.

Ana seems suspicious that Fayazi did not know of Blas’s death at a Haza property, that Kaygi’s body was immediately cremated, and that Fayazi denies recognizing the names of the dead Engineers. Ana rudely accuses Fayazi of ignorance, protesting to Vashta in an aside that Fayazi is obviously lying. Vashta counters that Ana should focus on gaining access to the Haza estate, not on “grudges with old enemies” (312)—a reference to a past battle the novel does not elaborate on, though it broadly implies that Ana has fought against Haza corruption before.

When Vashta leaves to soothe Fayazi, Ana confirms to Din that she suspected that the case would “all eventually lead back to the Hazas” (314). Kaygi was third in line to head the Haza family. Fayazi, despite looking Din’s age, is nearly 60; she has been augmented by “vitality suffusions” and “pheromonal grafts” that extend her life and make her “entrancing” (315).