At sunset, Chaol, Nesryn, and Aelin watch another public execution in a decorated Rifthold square, where Dorian’s upcoming birthday celebrations make the scene feel especially grotesque. Chaol and Aelin argue over the next day’s plan: Chaol warns Aelin not to harm Dorian, and Aelin counters that killing Dorian might be mercy because of the Valg collar. When Chaol threatens to expose Aedion if Aelin touches Dorian, Aelin promises devastating retaliation if Chaol endangers her court.

Nesryn redirects their attention to the execution, but the guards begin early and kill the first prisoner before the rebels can act. The sight triggers Chaol’s memory of Sorscha’s death and Dorian’s suffering, and Chaol finally tells Aelin that magic can be freed by destroying one of three Wyrdstone clock towers. Aelin realizes the king may also use Wyrdmarks to trap Aelin or Aedion during the rescue, and Chaol reveals that Chaol saved Aelin’s old books from the castle, giving Aelin a possible way to prepare.

Aelin decides the remaining prisoners cannot be abandoned. Aelin moves to another rooftop, Nesryn covers the square with arrows, and Chaol joins his men on the ground. When the executioner raises the axe again, Aelin kills the executioner, Nesryn fires into the guards, and Chaol rushes the platform to drag the two surviving prisoners into an alley and toward safety.

After the escape, Chaol gets the rescued prisoners onto a boat. Nesryn reports that the square fell into chaos and says both Nesryn and Aelin survived. Nesryn then insists on personally informing the dead prisoner’s family, explaining that doing so reminds Nesryn what is at stake if the rebels are caught or fail.

That night, Aelin continues using the unrest to study patrol routes and confirm Arobynn’s information about the king’s guards. Aelin observes that the guards wear black rings and move like possessed men, then deliberately confronts a Valg-infested patrol in an alley. Aelin kills the guards, notes their black blood and the open sewer grate, beheads the bodies, and confirms they do not rise again.

At dawn, Aelin prepares for Aedion’s rescue after spending much of the night studying the books Chaol saved, including The Walking Dead. Arobynn’s clothes arrive, and Aelin checks them and her plan carefully before leaving to save Aedion.