diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 35454d2..94fe5a7 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -56,7 +56,9 @@ rejected.
 - Accepts a list of DNS hostnames (subdomains, distinguished from apex
   domains via the Public Suffix List).
 - Every **1 hour**, performs a full iterative trace to discover the
-  authoritative nameservers for the hostname's parent domain.
+  authoritative nameservers of the zone the hostname is in, which is not
+  always its last two labels (a name under `co.uk`, or in a delegated
+  subdomain).
 - Queries **each** authoritative nameserver independently for **all**
   record types: A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, SRV, CAA, NS.
 - Stores results **per nameserver**. The state for a hostname is not a
diff --git a/TODO.md b/TODO.md
index 6043a58..c3e8285 100644
--- a/TODO.md
+++ b/TODO.md
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ nameserver IP address changes: https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/dnswatcher/issues/105
 
 # Completed Steps
 
+- 2026-10-01: a hostname is queried at the servers of the zone it is in, found
+  by following delegations for the name, not its last two labels (closes #189).
 - 2026-10-01: `DNSWATCHER_SENTRY_DSN` reports panics in HTTP handlers to Sentry,
   and a DSN Sentry cannot parse stops startup (closes #107).
 - 2026-10-01: a port or TLS check that shutdown cuts short saves nothing and
diff --git a/internal/resolver/iterative.go b/internal/resolver/iterative.go
index 1e0b494..93f6b9b 100644
--- a/internal/resolver/iterative.go
+++ b/internal/resolver/iterative.go
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ const (
 	maxRetries           = 2
 	maxDelegation        = 20
 	timeoutMultiplier    = 2
-	minDomainLabels      = 2
 )
 
 // ErrRefused is returned when a DNS server refuses a query.
@@ -225,6 +224,15 @@ func (r *Resolver) followDelegation(
 			return ansNS, nil
 		}
 
+		// An authoritative reply comes from the servers of the zone
+		// domain is in; it is not a referral, even when its authority
+		// section lists that zone's NS records. Without NS records in
+		// the answer, domain is not the zone's apex and has no
+		// nameservers of its own.
+		if resp.Authoritative {
+			return nil, ErrNoNameservers
+		}
+
 		authNS := extractNSSet(resp.Ns)
 		if len(authNS) == 0 {
 			return r.resolveNSIterative(ctx, domain)
@@ -407,7 +415,9 @@ func (r *Resolver) resolveARecord(
 
 // FindAuthoritativeNameservers traces the delegation chain from
 // root servers to discover all authoritative nameservers for the
-// given domain. Walks up the label hierarchy for subdomains.
+// given domain. For a name that is not a zone apex it tries each
+// parent name in turn, so it returns the nameservers of the zone the
+// name is in.
 func (r *Resolver) FindAuthoritativeNameservers(
 	ctx context.Context,
 	domain string,
@@ -653,22 +663,8 @@ func extractRecordValue(rr dns.RR) string {
 	}
 }
 
-// parentDomain returns the registerable parent domain.
-func parentDomain(hostname string) string {
-	hostname = dns.Fqdn(strings.ToLower(hostname))
-	labels := dns.SplitDomainName(hostname)
-
-	if len(labels) <= minDomainLabels {
-		return strings.Join(labels, ".") + "."
-	}
-
-	return strings.Join(
-		labels[len(labels)-minDomainLabels:], ".",
-	) + "."
-}
-
-// QueryAllNameservers discovers auth NSes for the hostname's
-// parent domain, then queries each one independently.
+// QueryAllNameservers discovers the auth NSes of the zone the
+// hostname is in, then queries each one independently.
 func (r *Resolver) QueryAllNameservers(
 	ctx context.Context,
 	hostname string,
@@ -677,9 +673,7 @@ func (r *Resolver) QueryAllNameservers(
 		return nil, ErrContextCanceled
 	}
 
-	parent := parentDomain(hostname)
-
-	nameservers, err := r.FindAuthoritativeNameservers(ctx, parent)
+	nameservers, err := r.FindAuthoritativeNameservers(ctx, hostname)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/internal/resolver/resolver_test.go b/internal/resolver/resolver_test.go
index 2946519..15a18c5 100644
--- a/internal/resolver/resolver_test.go
+++ b/internal/resolver/resolver_test.go
@@ -79,9 +79,10 @@ func TestFindAuthoritativeNameservers_Subdomain(
 	t.Parallel()
 
 	r := newTestResolver(t)
-	nameservers := liveFindAuthoritative(t, r, "www.google.com")
+	fromHost := liveFindAuthoritative(t, r, "www.google.com")
+	fromZone := liveFindAuthoritative(t, r, "google.com")
 
-	assert.NotEmpty(t, nameservers)
+	assert.Equal(t, fromZone, fromHost)
 }
 
 func TestFindAuthoritativeNameservers_ReturnsSorted(
@@ -350,37 +351,58 @@ func TestQueryAllNameservers_ReturnsAllNS(t *testing.T) {
 func TestQueryAllNameservers_AllReturnOK(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 
-	r := newTestResolver(t)
-	results := liveQueryAllNameservers(t, r, "google.com")
+	// The last two names are in zones other than their last two
+	// labels: google.co.uk, under the two-label suffix co.uk, and
+	// compute-1.amazonaws.com, which amazonaws.com delegates to other
+	// servers and which has a host name for each of its addresses.
+	// Servers above a name's zone only refer onward, which gives
+	// nodata, so ok shows the name was asked at its own zone's
+	// servers.
+	hostnames := []string{
+		"google.com",
+		"www.google.co.uk",
+		"ec2-3-80-0-1.compute-1.amazonaws.com",
+	}
 
-	// A quorum, not unanimity: one authoritative server being
-	// slow or rate-limiting us is a property of the live
-	// internet, not a resolver defect.
-	assert.GreaterOrEqual(
-		t,
-		countStatus(results, resolver.StatusOK),
-		liveQuorum(len(results)),
-		"a quorum of nameservers should answer OK: %s",
-		describeStatuses(results),
-	)
+	for _, hostname := range hostnames {
+		t.Run(hostname, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
 
-	// Quorum tolerates SILENCE only. Every individual result must
-	// be either the expected answer or a non-answer: ok, timeout
-	// or error, and nothing else. Stated as a closed allowlist so
-	// that a wrong answer no one thought to ban — nxdomain and
-	// nodata today, any status added later — fails here rather
-	// than sliding through under the quorum.
-	assert.Empty(
-		t,
-		unsanctionedStatuses(
-			results,
-			resolver.StatusOK,
-			resolver.StatusTimeout,
-			resolver.StatusError,
-		),
-		"every nameserver must answer OK or not answer at all: %s",
-		describeStatuses(results),
-	)
+			r := newTestResolver(t)
+			results := liveQueryAllNameservers(t, r, hostname)
+
+			// A quorum, not unanimity: one authoritative server
+			// being slow or rate-limiting us is a property of the
+			// live internet, not a resolver defect.
+			assert.GreaterOrEqual(
+				t,
+				countStatus(results, resolver.StatusOK),
+				liveQuorum(len(results)),
+				"a quorum of nameservers should answer OK: %s",
+				describeStatuses(results),
+			)
+
+			// Quorum tolerates SILENCE only. Every individual
+			// result must be either the expected answer or a
+			// non-answer: ok, timeout or error, and nothing else.
+			// Stated as a closed allowlist so that a wrong answer
+			// no one thought to ban — nxdomain and nodata today,
+			// any status added later — fails here rather than
+			// sliding through under the quorum.
+			assert.Empty(
+				t,
+				unsanctionedStatuses(
+					results,
+					resolver.StatusOK,
+					resolver.StatusTimeout,
+					resolver.StatusError,
+				),
+				"every nameserver must answer OK or not answer "+
+					"at all: %s",
+				describeStatuses(results),
+			)
+		})
+	}
 }
 
 func TestQueryAllNameservers_NXDomainFromAllNS(