In the cave beneath Bald Mountain, Celaena realizes the red eye below the ice belongs to an enormous ancient creature with jagged teeth. Rowan has not known the lake is occupied, and he struggles to keep a safe ice bridge intact while Celaena gets Luca moving toward shore.

The creature attacks from below, cracking and lifting the ice with its tail and talons. Rowan sends a discarded sword sliding to Celaena; she grabs the golden-hilted blade, notices a plain gold ring falling from its scabbard, pockets the ring, and drags Luca to safety. Once Rowan lets the ice melt, the creature falls back into the water, and Celaena flees with Luca before its furious roar reveals it cannot bear the sunlight.

Near Mistward, Celaena sends Luca ahead and attacks Rowan for endangering someone else in her training. Their fight forces Celaena to confess the truth she has been avoiding: Nehemia arranged her own death because Celaena refused to help, and Celaena hates Nehemia for lying and leaving her. Rowan accepts her vengeance against the men responsible, and Celaena realizes she burned Rowan’s wrists during the struggle, but Rowan tells her not to apologize for defending people she cares about.

Back in the kitchen, Emrys scolds both Rowan and Celaena for returning bloody and battered. Celaena realizes she has remained in her Fae form, but Malakai and Emrys make it clear they already know who she is. Celaena shifts back, apologizes to Emrys, Luca, and Malakai for her earlier cruelty, and hears Emrys recount a story about the nameless lake creature: it came from another world, preyed on Fae and humans, lost an eye to an unknown Fae warrior, and was cursed to remain beneath the mountain. The detail that the creature remembers the warrior’s gold ring makes Celaena suspect the ring and sword she found are connected to that ancient tale.

That night, guilt over Rowan’s burns keeps Celaena awake, so she brings him salve. Rowan reveals that his mate, Lyria, was murdered while pregnant after he left her to seek glory in war, and that his tattoo records his shame. He describes his years of madness and emptiness before Maeve brought him back into service and he swore the blood oath. Recognizing their shared grief and self-loathing, Rowan suggests that he and Celaena might find their way back together, and Celaena accepts, feeling a small ember of hope return.