Aelin enters Rolfe’s office smugly, but Rowan quickly briefs Aelin: Maeve’s cadre is temporarily working with Rowan because the search may lead to Lorcan, Adarlan’s fleet is in the Gulf of Oro through an agreement with Melisande, and Maeve’s armada is sailing toward Eyllwe for unknown reasons. Rowan also tells Aelin that Rowan missed Aelin, and Aelin openly kisses Rowan before turning back to negotiations.

Aelin tries to turn Rolfe’s ambitions into leverage. Aelin offers gold, legitimacy, and support for making Rolfe not merely Pirate Lord but Pirate King, with Murtaugh’s sealed recommendation as proof. Rolfe throws the letter away, but Dorian adds that both Terrasen and Adarlan could recognize Skull’s Bay and the Dead Islands as a true kingdom if they win the war.

Rolfe rejects the offer as idealistic and mocks Aelin’s vision of a freer world. When Rolfe suggests Aelin might offer marriage to make him king of her lands, Rowan and Aelin go still, and Rolfe realizes he has provoked them. Dorian’s attempt to question Rolfe’s refusal only hardens Rolfe’s stance: Rolfe orders Aelin’s group to leave Skull’s Bay within two days or face the consequences of their old bargain.

Outside Rolfe’s office, Aelin immediately worries that Aedion may encounter Gavriel before Aedion is ready. Gavriel demands to know where Aedion is, but Aelin refuses to let Gavriel control the meeting or even claim the right to call Aedion his son. During the confrontation, Lysandra secretly slips away through the window to warn or move Aedion, and Aelin warns Gavriel never to give Aelin orders.

At the Ocean Rose, Aelin finds Aedion and Lysandra already waiting. Aelin briefly speaks with Dorian, apologizing for Rifthold and noting that both Aelin and Dorian have been stripped of their crowns by political decrees; Dorian grimly suggests that might be a good thing. In a private meeting, Rowan and Dorian recount what happened to them, while Aedion focuses on military details about the Ironteeth witches and the fall of Rifthold.

The group considers whether Manon Blackbeak might be turned into an ally, whether the witches could be divided from within, and why the Ironteeth allied with Erawan. Aelin orders that any witches they encounter be taken alive for questioning. Aelin then explains what happened in Ilium and Brannon’s command to find the Lock, recognizing that Maeve’s fleet, Morath’s fleet, and Brannon’s directive all converge around Eyllwe; overwhelmed by the scale of the threats, Aelin resolves to proceed one step at a time by securing Rolfe’s aid and testing whether Rolfe’s map can locate the Lock.