Bree, Fitz, and Evan take the far-right tunnel after the larger group splits up beneath the Wall of Ages. The passage is narrow, cold, foul-smelling, and slick with mildew, forcing them to move mostly in silence with Fitz in front, Evan in the middle, and Bree behind. Evan questions whether Davis would really open the Gates underground, and Fitz argues that fighting demons in such confined quarters would be tactically disastrous.

The tunnel opens beside a deep ravine, making the path more dangerous. As the group hugs the wall, they hear skittering and wingbeats. At first Evan guesses bats, but a scaly creature appears, then attacks Fitz hard enough to knock him down and send his flashlight into the ravine.

A swarm of flying imps descends on the group. Fitz draws his aether sword, Evan and Bree move to help, and Bree cuts one imp’s tail before killing another. During the fight, Grandmother Charles’s voice erupts in Bree’s mind with frantic prayers, nearly distracting Bree enough to send her over the edge; Bree shouts at her grandmother to stop, kills the attacking imp, and mentally locks Grandmother Charles away so Bree can focus.

The final imp sinks its claws into Fitz’s shoulders from behind, where Fitz cannot reach it. The creature lifts Fitz off the path and drags him toward the ravine. Evan screams, but the imp releases Fitz, and Fitz falls onto a sharp red rock below, killing him instantly.

In shock, Bree kills the remaining imp as it dives at Bree. Evan realizes Fitz is dead, and Fitz’s aether sword dissolves to dust; Evan’s sword and armor vanish as well, severed from Fitz’s power. Bree concludes with cold certainty that Davis has opened a Gate and that, whether or not Davis killed Faye, Davis has now caused Fitz’s death.