Chaol watches as Aelin jumps into the fighting pit after choosing the Valg commander as her opponent. The crowd surges to bet, and Chaol reflects uneasily on Arobynn Hamel’s offer: it gives Chaol and Nesryn a chance to locate the Valg again, but Chaol distrusts any gift from the King of the Assassins.

The fight begins with no rules except no blades. Aelin and the commander trade brutal, rapid blows, and Aelin clearly enjoys facing an opponent strong enough to challenge her. Arobynn watches with fascination while Lysandra clings to him, and men near Arobynn appear to judge Aelin as a commodity or weapon.

Aelin gains control of the fight and looks to Arobynn, who signals that he has seen enough. Chaol realizes Aelin has been prolonging the fight for Arobynn’s purposes and worries what unchecked power could mean if Aelin regains magic alongside Aedion and her Fae allies. Before Aelin can finish as ordered, the commander bites her, tastes her blood, recognizes what she is, and calls her a half-breed.

The commander threatens to take Aelin to Morath and reveal what the Valg do to people like her. Because the threat exposes both his knowledge and the danger of capture, Aelin ends the fight by breaking his neck. She then secretly releases a hidden blade from her boot and repeatedly severs the commander’s head, hiding the unnatural Valg blood from the crowd while the other Valg guards watch her closely.

After the fight, Arobynn pulls Aelin from the pit and angrily reminds her that he ordered the commander rendered unconscious, not killed. Aelin deflects by blaming bloodlust. Arobynn then reveals that he knows where Sam is buried, using the information as leverage; he gives Aelin the location in a small riverside graveyard but also warns that she may need his money, fighters, and influence.

Aelin leaves Arobynn and Lysandra behind, noting Lysandra’s sharp attention on Wesley’s scar across Arobynn’s neck. Chaol and Nesryn slip away to follow the Valg who are leaving the Pits. Aelin reflects that she brought Chaol and Nesryn partly so they would understand how dangerous trusting Arobynn is, and she hopes they now see why Aelin believes Dorian should have been killed when they had the chance.