After seeing the burned Grisha bodies, Nina staggers through the snow, sickened by the smell and by the reminder of what Matthias was trained to believe about her people. Her anger clashes with her lingering attraction to Matthias, and she worries that sabotaging Kaz’s mission to protect Grisha from jurda parem would cost Matthias the pardon she feels she owes him.

Nina remembers the three weeks after the shipwreck when she and Matthias crossed the northern wilderness together. They survived hunger, cold, and uncertainty by arguing, joking, and gradually trusting each other. When Nina nearly falls into an ice crevasse, Matthias saves her despite admitting he briefly considered letting her go; afterward, they finally exchange names, marking a fragile shift from enemies to companions.

In the present, Matthias follows Nina and restrains her when she uses her power against him. Their argument draws the others, and Matthias reveals that after they reached Elling, Nina accused him of being a slaver to Kerch traders, causing his imprisonment. Nina admits the charge was deliberate and, when asked if she would undo it, says she would do it again, shocking the group.

The confrontation is interrupted by an attack. Earth and ice erupt around the crew while a Squaller flies overhead with impossible control, proving jurda parem can amplify Grisha powers beyond known limits. Wylan’s explosive distracts the Squaller, Jesper shoots attackers, Kaz helps Inej vault over the stone enclosure, and Inej stops a second Grisha. The crew survives and discovers the attackers carried Shu currency, indicating a Shu government mission also seeking Bo Yul-Bayur.

Nina recognizes the wounded Fabrikator as Nestor, a former schoolmate from the Little Palace, but he is ravaged by parem and dies begging for more and calling for the Shu. Kaz refuses to delay for burials, but Matthias chooses to stay and help Nina dig graves. While they work, Nina explains that she falsely accused Matthias because Ravkan Grisha spies in Elling planned to capture him, and she believed Kerch custody would save him without exposing Ravkan intelligence.

Matthias hears Nina’s explanation but does not fully absolve her. As they bury Nestor and the Squaller, Nina and Matthias discuss how parem could enslave or weaponize Grisha, and both conclude that Bo Yul-Bayur cannot be allowed to leave the Ice Court alive. They knowingly accept that this would betray Kaz’s deal and threaten their own lives, but they seal the decision together: the deal is the deal.