Nina, Matthias, Kaz, and Kuwei emerge from the underground river battered, soaked, and exhausted while the Ice Court bells ring behind them. Kaz is unconscious and barely breathing, so Matthias begins rough chest compressions before Nina uses her Heartrender ability to force Kaz’s heart to beat and breathe air into Kaz’s lungs. Kaz revives in shock, recoils from Nina’s touch, then regains focus when Nina reminds him of the heist and the money waiting in Ketterdam.

The group climbs out of the gorge and worries that they cannot reach the harbor without Inej, Jesper, and Wylan. A tank appears over the hill with Inej and Wylan waving from it, proving that Kaz’s plan to seize a vehicle has worked. Their relief is short-lived when a column of Fjerdan tanks pursues them, but Jesper uses the stolen tank’s cannon to destroy the bridge behind them, cutting off the chase.

The crew clings to the tank as it races through Djerholm toward the harbor. Matthias directs Wylan and Jesper through the quieter western streets, and Kuwei joyfully smells the sea as the Ferolind and the possibility of escape draw close. Nina briefly imagines freedom and a life with Matthias once they claim their reward.

At the quay, the tank is stopped by rows of Fjerdan soldiers under Black Protocol, all aiming at the crew. The soldiers demand that they release Kuwei Yul-Bo, and Nina realizes the Fjerdans have brought a captive Heartrender dosed with jurda parem, making him more dangerous than their guns. The Ferolind is visible but unreachable, and Kaz admits he did not anticipate this trap.

With surrender meaning renewed captivity or death, the crew prepares to fight hopelessly. Nina instead asks Kuwei for the parem he carries and takes it before Matthias or the others can stop her. The drug immediately transforms Nina’s perception and power, allowing Nina to sense the soldiers’ bodies and the enemy Heartrender as the confrontation begins.