Three days after the ilken attack, Lorcan and Elide remain with the shaken carnival caravan, though Nik and Ombriel grow suspicious of how they survived. Elide keeps her distance from Lorcan, while Lorcan secretly uses magic to support her injured foot and thinks about the horrors from Morath, the ilken, and the strange stone Elide carries.

When the caravan reaches a decaying river town, Elide follows merchants and sailors into taverns to gather news during a storm. By listening carefully and asking careful questions, Elide learns that Rifthold is controlled by witches for Duke Perrington, Dorian has been ousted but may still be alive, and Aelin is not in Terrasen. Multiple rumors suggest Aelin is moving unpredictably, and Elide concludes that Aelin is likely heading to Banjali in Eyllwe.

Elide admits she was supposed to go north and does not know how to find Aelin now. Lorcan offers to get Elide a map, and Elide reveals she cannot read because her imprisonment in the tower ended her education. Before they can decide what to do, Lorcan senses town guards approaching and realizes someone from the carnival likely sold them out. Elide chooses flight over a fight, and Lorcan carries Elide to the docks to seize a barge.

Elide persuades the barge owner to help them escape the town, promising he will be freed after they pass the danger. Once they are clear, Lorcan kills the man anyway, claiming survival requires doing what is necessary. Elide is furious because Elide gave her word, and the stone in her jacket begins to stir in response to her anger. Lorcan senses it, then opens the amulet he had been carrying and discovers that Aelin and Rowan tricked him: it contains only a Wyrdstone ring and a mocking note from Aelin, not the Wyrdkey he believed he possessed.

Lorcan lashes out by revealing that Aelin was Celaena Sardothien, an assassin trained in Rifthold, and argues that Elide’s queen is no better than Lorcan. Elide refuses to accept Lorcan’s judgment before meeting Aelin herself and wounds Lorcan by accusing him of being jealous, lonely, and resentful of Aelin and Rowan’s happiness. Lorcan refuses to take Elide ashore; instead, he announces that the river leads south and that he now has business with Aelin too, making himself Elide’s guide to Eyllwe while privately vowing revenge on Aelin.