After the battle at Anielle, Rowan follows Aelin to the edge of the Silver Lake while the army prepares to leave in two days. Aelin worries that Yrene’s healing gift might be able to destroy Erawan or Maeve, but using Yrene would endanger Yrene and her unborn child. Rowan helps Aelin face the cruel choice: risking Yrene as a weapon, or relying on the Lock and the sacrifice it may demand from Aelin or Dorian.

A casual phrase about the gods sparks Aelin’s desire to inspect the Wyrdmark books Chaol and Yrene brought from the Torre Cesme’s forbidden library. In Sartaq’s war tent, Aelin, Rowan, and Borte search the texts for any alternate way to seal the Wyrdgate. They find spells of little use, including one for short-distance portals, but no solution that can spare Aelin or Dorian from the Lock.

Fenrys joins the search, and the group continues until the trunk of books is exhausted. When nothing useful emerges and fatigue sets in, Aelin sends everyone back to the keep. The failed search deepens the sense that the Lock remains unavoidable.

Meanwhile, Chaol confronts his father over granting territory to the wild men of the Fangs as part of an alliance. Lord Westfall tries to stop him through contempt, guilt, and finally blackmail: he reveals a trunk of letters Chaol’s mother wrote to Chaol after Chaol left, letters Lord Westfall deliberately withheld so both mother and son would believe themselves abandoned.

Chaol is shaken by the proof that his mother never forgot him, but he refuses to bargain. He leaves the letters with his father, declaring that he does not make bargains with bastards, and proceeds with the land grant despite Lord Westfall’s rage.

Two days later, guides from the wild men arrive, and Aelin’s allied host leaves Anielle. While Kashin leads part of the khaganate forces on a diversionary route, Aelin, Rowan, Chaol, and their companions begin the difficult mountain passage through the Fangs toward the Ferian Gap and Terrasen. As the army climbs north, Aelin lets her flame blaze around her, becoming a beacon for the forces marching homeward into war.