Aedion Ashryver stands at the prow of one of Ansel of Briarcliff’s ships as Maeve’s armada rains arrows on Aelin’s fleet. Remembering Rhoe Galathynius’s harsh training, Aedion realizes Terrasen’s rulers had prepared him for the possibility of facing an immortal army. Though Dorian’s magical shield still protects the ships, the magic-tipped arrows begin to strain it.

Aedion steadies the frightened soldiers by reframing the Fae as killable enemies and masking his own fear with confidence. He refuses to let terror weaken the line, then follows Rowan’s signal and orders a volley of arrows. The attack is meant less to destroy Maeve’s forces than to distract them from a more important assault beneath the water.

Under the sea, Lysandra moves in a modified sea-dragon form she has refined during the voyage. Using stronger limbs, a clubbed tail, and scales modeled after Spidersilk, Lysandra tears rudders from Rowan’s marked ships and punches holes in their keels. Arrows, harpoons, and water magic fail to stop her as she works through exhaustion, driven by her promise to Aelin, Aedion, and the future court they hope to build.

On the surface, Dorian struggles to maintain his shields as Maeve’s fleet falls into confusion but continues advancing. Aelin and Manon have not returned from the mirror, and Dorian fears his decision to send them away may have doomed the others. Rowan, meanwhile, holds the front line in a state of cold, lethal rage, waiting until the enemy crosses the chosen point before unleashing power.

As Maeve’s ships maneuver around their disabled companions and approach, Dorian braces for a hopeless clash against rested Fae warriors. Then he notices that the advancing ships carry silver banners with a screaming hawk, not Maeve’s black owl. Maeve’s flag is lowered, and ships of the House of Whitethorn open fire on Maeve’s own armada, abruptly turning the battle.