Matthias comes on deck seasick and humiliated, especially because the Ketterdam crew seems more at ease on the water than he is. He thinks of Nina tending the badly wounded Inej belowdecks and rejects an impulse to bring Nina coffee, reminding himself of Nina's betrayal and his hatred for Grisha.

Kaz summons Matthias to help label the Ice Court plans in Fjerdan. Before they begin, Kaz distributes small disks of baleen that can provide about ten minutes of emergency breathing underwater if bitten; Wylan accidentally bites down too soon and panics until Kaz tells him to breathe through his nose. Matthias reluctantly labels the plans, feeling that the act is treasonous and briefly considering whether he could betray the crew once they reach Fjerda, though he realizes his identity and loyalties may no longer be easy to prove.

When Kaz presses Matthias for withheld information, Matthias tells the group that Kaz's presumed plan cannot work because the Ice Court prison sector is sealed off from the embassy and the rest of the compound. Kaz instead focuses on the prison's incinerator shaft, leading Matthias to understand that Kaz is considering a dangerous escape route upward through the chimney. Nina arrives from belowdecks for air and challenges Kaz for casually assuming that Inej, still unconscious and possibly dying, could climb it.

Jesper shifts the argument to Pekka Rollins, warning that going after Bo Yul-Bayur is too dangerous if Rollins is also involved. Wylan supports the concern, saying Rollins has more money, connections, and perhaps a head start. Kaz dismisses Rollins as only another Barrel boss, but Matthias notices that Kaz's intensity suggests a personal hatred rooted in old wounds.

The crew debates alternate routes into Fjerda, including sailing to Djerholm or approaching through Ravka, but Kaz rejects each as too heavily guarded or uncertain. Nina adds strategic objections to the Ravkan route, unsettling Matthias because her confidence in military matters contradicts Fjerdan expectations of women. Kaz decides they will proceed from the north as planned, and the tense exchange ends with dark humor about ghosts, showing the crew's fear but also their uneasy cohesion.