Rowan kneels on the beach, shattered by Aelin’s capture and by the truths Maeve exposed. Rowan remembers that he and Aelin were secretly married two days earlier with Aedion and Lysandra as witnesses, and he finally accepts that Aelin is his mate, wife, equal, and queen. Rowan also understands that Aelin knew sealing the gate would demand her immortal life, and that Aelin arranged everything because she did not expect to survive or be rescued.

Lorcan approaches with visible regret, but Rowan refuses to spend his fury on him. Rowan casts the mating bond outward, trying to reach Aelin and promising to find her, but only the sea answers. Then ships appear: Galan Ashryver, Crown Prince of Wendlyn, arrives with a letter from Aelin demanding that Wendlyn repay Terrasen and Evalin Ashryver’s memory.

Another force arrives across the dunes: Ilias and the Silent Assassins of the Red Desert, come to honor their life debt to Celaena Sardothien, now Aelin Galathynius. Wendlyn’s armada then crests the horizon, proving that Aelin succeeded in calling in old debts and building the army everyone believed she lacked. Rowan, Aedion, and the others grasp that Aelin assembled a force capable of challenging Morath, even though Aelin expected not to lead it.

Lysandra appears in Aelin’s form and flawlessly plays the queen before Galan, Ilias, and the assembled allies, preserving the secret that Maeve has taken the real Aelin. Lysandra announces that the army will go north to Terrasen, then quietly asks Rowan to retrieve something for her, making clear that Rowan must find Aelin. Aedion agrees to accompany Lysandra north and command the armies so the deception can hold.

Rowan’s rescue party forms as Lorcan, Gavriel, and Elide commit to helping retrieve Aelin. Dorian chooses to travel with Manon and the Thirteen to seek the Crochans and continue dealing with the Wyrdkeys and the Lock, keeping the keys away from Maeve. After farewells, the witches depart, Elide ignores Lorcan despite his obvious devastation, and Rowan finds Aelin’s bloodstained shirt, catches a faint flicker through the bond, and launches into the sky to begin the hunt for his wife.