Dorian enters Erawan’s chamber expecting some monstrous seat of Valg power, but he finds only an ordinary bedroom with a bed, washstand, desk, clothing, and no visible hiding place. Still, Dorian senses the Wyrdkey’s terrible presence throughout the room and searches for its source.

Dorian then notices a young, hollow-eyed woman lying in the bed. She resembles Kaltain, wears a black stone collar, and bears a festering wound near her wrist. Dorian realizes the final Wyrdkey has been implanted in her arm, which explains why its presence seemed to move through the keep with Erawan.

Maintaining the pose of the Valg king, Dorian orders the woman to give him her arm. Horrified by her condition but unable to delay, Dorian uses healing magic to numb and suppress the demon inside her, then cuts the Wyrdkey from her flesh and pockets it.

As Dorian turns to leave through the portal, the woman stops him and begs Dorian to kill her. Damaris confirms the truth of her plea, and Dorian is forced into a moral crisis: killing her might be mercy, but leaving her means abandoning her to Erawan and the Valg demon. Dorian thinks of Manon, Chaol, and Aelin, then chooses to define himself as a king who rebuilds rather than one who acts only through destruction.

Before Dorian can act, Maeve enters and snaps the woman’s neck, calling the death a wedding gift that spares him the decision. Maeve praises Dorian for obtaining the Wyrdkey, then unleashes her dark power on Dorian’s mind before Dorian can reach Damaris, trapping him in her web.