Aboard the ship, Aelin and Ansel celebrate Ansel’s dramatic arrival while Aedion and Rowan resent being excluded from Aelin’s plans. Ansel explains that Melisande was not under Valg control, making its alliance with Erawan a deliberate human choice. Aelin then asks Ansel not merely for soldiers, but to find the hidden Crochan witches and send any allies north.

Manon angrily rejects Aelin’s assumption that Manon can claim authority over the Crochans or promise away the Wastes. Aelin argues that the Ironteeth cannot hold the land while the curse remains and reveals that Erawan likely offered the Ironteeth the Wastes and a broken curse as his price. Ansel agrees to search, while Manon remains shaken by the idea of Crochan allegiance and by Aelin’s challenge to her identity.

Ansel privately tells Aelin that she once tried to rescue Aelin from Endovier, revealing the old guilt and loyalty that still bind them. The reunion turns grim when Ansel reports that the coastal fires were not set by Morath but by Fae soldiers from ships. Aelin and the others realize Maeve is burning towns in Aelin’s style to frame her as a tyrant and weaken potential alliances, prompting Aelin to order departure at first light.

Later, Rowan studies Aelin’s maps and recognizes that she has been placing armies across the continent to converge on Morath from west, east, and north. Aelin admits she still needs more troops and more time. Rowan also raises the possibility that Aelin could use fear of her power to unify or conquer beyond Terrasen, but Aelin refuses for now, though she acknowledges the political threat her strength creates. Their private warmth shifts when Aelin asks Rowan to do something for her.

That night, Manon cannot sleep, worrying over Abraxos, the scattered Thirteen, and whether the Crochans or Ironteeth could ever share the Wastes. Dorian enters her cabin, and their charged conversation turns intimate after he tells her the Bloodhound lied about Manon’s Second. Their encounter deepens the dangerous connection between them, but Manon remains unsettled afterward, feeling the vast emptiness of the world and wanting Abraxos back.

Before dawn, Elide lies awake near Lorcan, sensing unease and wondering whether Lorcan has brought danger to Aelin. Lorcan wakes and quietly reaches for her, suggesting they need to talk, but a terrified watchman interrupts them. Elide reaches the deck and sees another armada approaching from the western horizon; Fenrys identifies it as Maeve’s.