In rainy Oakwald Forest, Aelin practices coaxing water from a stream while the Little Folk watch from hiding. Since Aelin’s party crossed into Terrasen, the Little Folk have followed and left small gifts, signaling either curiosity or quiet allegiance. Rowan joins Aelin, and their teasing intimacy reveals both their deepening bond and Rowan’s insistence that Aelin’s safety comes before desire.

Aelin’s thoughts turn to the coming meeting with Terrasen lords, arranged by Aedion in a hidden rebel clearing rather than in Orynth. Aelin worries that Erawan has not yet moved after the mysterious blast at Morath, while Rowan suggests Erawan may still be rebuilding. Their conversation underscores the strategic uncertainty facing Terrasen: Aelin must gather allies without knowing when or how Morath will strike.

After Rowan returns to camp and Evangeline demands breakfast, Aelin notices the Little Folk have left a carefully made model of a wyvern. The gift points Aelin’s attention south toward Morath, Erawan, the Ironteeth witches, and the Valg, reminding Aelin that the war will soon demand terrible sacrifices from her.

Later, from Aedion’s perspective, the party waits through the storm for the lords to arrive. Aedion reflects on the restored magic in the world, Lysandra’s preference for animal forms after the abuses she suffered in her human body, and Aelin’s growing quietness as they near Orynth. He reviews the importance of the expected lords—Murtaugh, Ren Allsbrook, and Darrow—and stresses that Darrow, once King Orlon’s lover, helped Terrasen survive occupation despite his harshness.

When Rowan signals a possible threat, the camp moves into a defensive formation: Evangeline and Fleetfoot shelter inside Aelin’s protective fire, Aedion and Lysandra take positions, and Aelin readies Goldryn and her magic. Rowan emerges holding a young messenger at knifepoint. The messenger, wearing Darrow’s crest, explains that the lords are waiting at a tavern four miles away and want the meeting moved there because Murtaugh is too slowed by age and weather to travel through the storm. Aedion accepts that they must scout the tavern first, while the messenger admits Darrow is impatient and everyone is uneasy outside Orynth’s walls.