Aelin lies trapped in Maeve and Cairn’s iron coffin, exhausted, filthy, and convinced she may never escape or fulfill the sacrifice expected of her. Cairn returns and taunts her, scraping a dagger over the lid while Fenrys is sent away, but Aelin is too broken to respond at first.

In the darkness, Aelin hears the remembered voice of Evalin Ashryver, her mother. Evalin comforts Aelin, tells her she has been brave for a long time, and reminds Aelin that the strength of her heart will lead her home. The vision hardens into a command: Aelin does not yield.

Revived by that memory, Aelin begins hammering her bleeding fist against the iron lid. Cairn’s threats lose their power as Aelin turns the words into a battle cry, striking again and again until her will and magic surge outward. Cairn calls for gloriella, and sweet smoke finally drags Aelin unconscious.

When Aelin wakes chained to the altar, Aelin sees that the coffin lid has been badly warped, stretched upward as if nearly broken. Though still imprisoned, Aelin has proven to herself and her captors that she is not defeated.

Elsewhere, Rowan halts on a hill near Akkadia as Aelin’s fiery defiance explodes through the mating bond. Lorcan, Gavriel, and Elide notice his reaction, and Gavriel identifies the surge as coming from the north, toward Doranelle. When the signal abruptly vanishes, Rowan clings to the still-intact bond and sends Aelin a promise: he will find her.

Rowan then changes strategy. Knowing Maeve might move Aelin if the rescue party approaches openly, Rowan decides they must lure Maeve away from Aelin long enough to infiltrate Doranelle, using a different bait rather than announcing their pursuit.