Chapter 14

Near the Ice Needle Citadel, Oak insists on joining the infiltration despite lingering poison. Wren distributes stolen uniforms; she hides the bridle at her waist, and Tiernan keeps the reliquary, planning a distraction while Titch scouts a lax patrol window. They creep toward the walls, passing a spiderlike stick construct devouring a servant.

Inside the halls of ice, Wren leads while they avoid being seen through translucent walls. In the courtyard, Lady Nore bleeds into bone dust and awakens a line of stick-and-snow creatures, confirming the reach of Mab’s magic. When two guards approach, Oak pulls Wren into a staged kiss to obscure their faces, then swiftly kills the pair and they conceal the bodies.

They navigate upward toward Lady Nore’s chamber. Wren is shaken by memories of her captivity and confesses past cruelties, extracting Oak’s promise not to leave her behind. In Nore’s bedroom—lit red by flayed bodies frozen in the walls—they search for Mab’s reliquary amid disarray that suggests haste and desperation, but find nothing.

As they turn to leave, Wren notices shapes frozen in the bed’s ice base. The three victims open their eyes and emit an eerie, rising chorus, sounding an alarm. Realizing it is a trap, Oak shoves Wren into flight.

They race down the stairs, but a force of mixed guards blocks them on a landing. With weapons drawn, the soldiers fan out, surrounding Wren and Oak as their covert attempt collapses into confrontation.