Tekker's ambition to seize control of the regime's temporal apparatus through manufactured crises, betrayals, and judicial executions

Vena enters the Inner Sanctum seeking her father, only to find Tekker—his former rival—now draped in the symbols of his fallen rank, the amulet of office gleaming at his throat. …

Tekker exploits Peri’s capture to force Vena to surrender the amulet, then immediately orders Mykros and the captured rebels to the Timelash. Brunner obeys, executing the Borad’s will and cementing …