diff --git a/artifacts/api-server/src/routes/relay.ts b/artifacts/api-server/src/routes/relay.ts
index 22f8fdf..3ab2f0e 100644
--- a/artifacts/api-server/src/routes/relay.ts
+++ b/artifacts/api-server/src/routes/relay.ts
@@ -193,15 +193,17 @@ async function evaluatePolicy(
   }
 
   if (isElite) {
-    // Elite accounts bypass moderation — inject directly into strfry
+    // Elite accounts bypass moderation — inject directly into strfry.
+    // On inject failure, return hard reject so the client knows to retry
+    // (shadowReject would silently drop the event from the sender's perspective).
     const rawJson = JSON.stringify(rawEvent);
     const injectResult = await injectEvent(rawJson);
     if (!injectResult.ok) {
-      logger.warn("elite event inject failed — shadowReject as fallback", {
+      logger.warn("elite event inject failed — returning reject so client can retry", {
         eventId: eventId.slice(0, 8),
         error: injectResult.error,
       });
-      return shadowRejectDecision(eventId);
+      return rejectDecision(eventId, "relay unavailable — please retry");
     }
     return acceptDecision(eventId);
   }