Summary (Spoilers ahead!)

Ashlin, feeling that he has lost everything that has ever been important to him, defies his mother and refuses to be her heir with the perceived loss of Iridin. Bedelia announces that if Iridin had been anything other than blue fire, she would have killed him. In the argument, Bedelia reminds Ashlin that he smashed his own eggs, and orders him to carry out a contract. 

Ashlin refuses to complete the contract and to be her heir, which prompts them to argue about who could be heir in his place. Furious, Bedelia threatens Ashlin with her blade to listen and obey her orders, at which point he decides to bargain; his obedience, for the raising of his future heir as he deems fit without her input. She agrees for the two to do a binding agreement on these terms, and Ashlin leaves to his room